Despite being born in MMA’s most dominant region, Dagestan in Russia, Magomedov is somewhat of an anomaly when it comes to fighters who have come out of that area, as he has a very different fighting style to the large majority of his fellow Dagestan natives. The reason behind Magomedov’s style being so different to other Dagestani fighters may be that although he briefly encountered Khabib Nurmagomedov’s legendary father, Abdulmanap, who is known to have trained the most dominant fighters of this era of MMA from a very early age, Shara was kicked out of the gym years before his UFC debut for a pretty bizarre reason.
Related
What Happened to UFC Fighter Shara Magomedov’s Eye
Sharaputdin Magomedov is now a ranked UFC middleweight and he’s done it all with just one eye…
Shara Magomedov’s Haircut Got Him Kicked Out of Team Khabib
The one-eyed fighter sacrificed training with the very best to keep his long haircut
Shara Magomedov has revealed the bizarre reason he was kicked out of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s legendary MMA gym years before he began his UFC career. The one-eyed Russian hails from Dagestan, Russia, which is probably the most dominant region for MMA today, and if it wasn’t for his long and exuberant haircut, he could’ve been trained by Khabib’s legendary father, Abdulmanap, who is credited as the sole reason for so much Dagestani dominance in MMA.
During a recent media scrum with Russian reporters, Magomedov revealed that he had to exit the gym as he did not want to shave his head despite Abdulmanap making it mandatory for his fighters to have short, bald hairstyles.
“I always had a long haircut and in my childhood, youth, school time I heard about the gym. The problem was that to sign up there you had to have the haircut. There was one time I went there when Khabib was young, and he actually wasn’t training that day, so I trained. I left, and the problem was that Abdulmanap said ‘You need a short bald hairstyle.’ Then, I didn’t understand the meaning of it, it seems that it may not interfere in principle. Yes, well, if you take it from the outside, why do you grow it?”
Magomedov’s unwillingness to shave his head as a child may end up costing him a UFC title down the line, but if he was to shave his head as a child and get in with the legendary Nurmagomedov camp, he more than likely wouldn’t have adopted his flashy and fun style.
Shara Magomedov Returns to the Octagon at UFC Saudi Arabia
Magomedov will take on Michael ‘Venom’ Page this upcoming weekend
This upcoming weekend at UFC Saudi Arabia, Shara Magomedov makes his return to the Octagon against Michael ‘Venom’ Page in a fight which could be one of the most flashy and exciting of 2025 given the pair’s styles.
Shara Magomedov and Michael Page’s professional MMA records (as of 29/01/25)
Shara Magomedov
Michael Page
Fights
15
26
Wins
15
23
Losses
0
3
