6. Zabit Magomedsharipov
Magomedsharipov is yet another example of a difference in criteria. In my opinion, he fulfilled his potential. He trained hard, showed improvement from fight to fight, and always displayed large amounts of intelligence and toughness in his matches en route to a sterling record of 18-1 by the age of 28, including 6-0 in the UFC. He was certainly a marvel, standing over 6 feet, 1 inch in height, yet managing to make the featherweight limit. Despite being reed-thin, he was not only an excellent striker with fantastic spinning roundhouse kicks, but one of the most exciting, unique grapplers in the sport. He dazzled the MMA world with an array of unique, skillful takedowns and gorgeous submissions. His choice to compete at 145 pounds might not have been for the best though, as a slew of medical problems, among other issues, caused him to retire in 2022. Obviously, those who included him are considering how much greater his career could have been had he continued fighting. I understand that. There is a chance he would have become featherweight champion and even gone down as one of the greatest fighters ever. However, his health woes are a product of his natural physical ability, no different than his long arms and legs, or tremendous agility. No amount of training and toughness could overcome that.
Besides, while it's possible that Magomedsharipov could have achieved greatness had he continued fighting, there is also a solid chance he wouldn't have. Recall that his last fight in the UFC was barely holding on to beat Calvin Kattar, and was being picked apart with punches in the final stanza. I scored that fight for Kattar and believe that Magomedsharipov would not have been an effective five-round fighter, which would in turn make winning a championship very difficult. I struggle to see him ever beating Max Holloway, let alone current champion Alexander Volkanovski. Regardless, every MMA fan wishes he didn't retire so early, and his rumored return in 2023 may affect his position on future editions of this list.
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