Shara Magomedov is taking aim at UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, questioning his willingness to defend the belt outside the United States.
Magomedov, who has built his UFC career competing internationally, believes Strickland’s stance on only fighting in America limits what a champion should represent. Because of his blindness in one eye (he has 30% to 50% vision in his right eye), Magomedov is unable to compete in the United States under current athletic commission rules, making a potential matchup between the two difficult.
Magomedov questions Strickland’s willingness to travel
Speaking with Red Corner MMA, Magomedov dismissed Strickland’s approach to title defenses and suggested the champion avoids fighting abroad.
“He’s like a domestic champion. Just a home boy who acts like a big hero in his gym.”
He continued by pointing to a hypothetical event in Azerbaijan.
“For example, if they invited him to Azerbaijan he wouldn’t come, because he’s scared. He won’t leave America.”
Magomedov also believes Strickland’s preference for competing only in the United States works in his favor because he knows Magomedov cannot fight there.
“And if we had to fight, he would say, ‘Come to America,’ because he knows I can’t go there now. So he’s just a domestic champion.”
He also questioned how Strickland would handle competing in Abu Dhabi.
“If he ever comes to Abu Dhabi, he will ask for five security guards.”
“But most likely he won’t even go there.”
Strickland’s training imitation draws another response
Magomedov also reacted to footage of Strickland training at XTreme Couture before Michel Pereira faced him at UFC Baku. In the videos, Strickland was seen throwing spinning attacks similar to Magomedov’s striking style to help Pereira prepare.
Magomedov was not impressed.
“I don’t think he can do it like me.”
“It was an imitation, if a pale one.”
Despite Pereira’s preparation, Magomedov earned a unanimous decision victory with all three judges scoring the bout 29-28 in Baku.
The win improved Magomedov’s UFC record to 6-1. However, both he and Pereira entered the fight outside the official middleweight rankings, meaning Magomedov may still have work to do before entering the title picture.