Shara Magomedov walked into UFC Fight Night 250 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, thinking he would taste yet another win and keep his record spotless. Alas, how wrong! His opponent Michael ‘Venom’ Page delivered a masterful performance, handing Magomedov the first loss of his professional MMA career (unanimous decision). Page’s unorthodox striking and elusive movement proved too much for the previously undefeated Russian, securing a unanimous decision victory with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.

What’s interesting is that despite being a Dagestani, ‘Shara Bullet’ is trained in lethwei and prefers to fight on his feet. Out of his 15 MMA wins, he won 12 of them through KO/TKO. On the other hand, ‘Venom’ has a freestyle kickboxing background and hence, it looked like a great matchup. But Magomedov simply couldn’t handle the intensity.

Following the fight, Page commended Magomedov’s skill, predicting a bright future for the Russian despite the setback. “I wanted to mix it up. Shara Bullet [Magomedov] is an amazing MMA fighter, regardless of this result he is going to go on and do some amazing things,” MVP shared. The British fighter spent major parts of his career competing at welterweight and he fought Magomedov at middleweight for the first time since 2012. Big win for him, no doubt.

However, Magomedov was visibly disappointed. Not only was his undefeated record broken, but the loss also came with a significant financial cost. Speaking on the YouTube channel of Russian media outlet Ushatayka, he revealed that had he won, he would have made a substantial amount of money.

As translated by YouTube’s auto-captions, ‘Shara Bullet’ stated, “This money would probably have been $300,000 in total if I had won. Well, as you saw what happened, lost.”

Adding to his misfortune, Magomedov disclosed days ago that he had entered the fight while battling a severe health issue. Though he did not specify whether it was an injury or illness, he described it as a “nightmarish condition” that significantly impacted his performance. His admission has sparked speculation among fans, with many wondering how much this undisclosed ailment impacted his ability to fight at his best.

“Thank you to the UFC organization for this opportunity and to everyone involved. I wanted to put on a show and meet expectations without canceling the fight. Thank you to everyone who stands by me in any situation! Alhamdulillah,” he mentioned in the same post where he talked about his health.

Meanwhile, former UFC fighter Josh Thomson also took to his ‘Weighing In’ podcast to share his honest opinion on the fight.

Did Michael ‘Venom’ Page ‘fraud check’ Shara Magomedov’s abilities?

Shara Magomedov’s meteoric rise in the UFC has come to an abrupt halt. The one-eyed Dagestani sensation had captivated fans with his action-movie villain persona, devastating knockouts, and former undefeated record. While Magomedov had been seen as a rising force in the middleweight division, MVP proved to be several steps ahead. Former UFC fighter and analyst Josh Thomson weighed in on the bout on his podcast, offering a blunt assessment of the Russian’s performance.

“MVP, I thought, kind of dominated the fight. Just very one-sided, very touch-touch, land [a strike], touch-touch, land, and circle out, you know. Seemed like he was in control the whole fight,” Thomson said.

However, Thomson went further: “To me, though, I felt like it was a little bit of a fraud check.” While he acknowledged the Russian’s talent, he pointed out a crucial reality—this was the first time Magomedov had faced a truly elite striker, and it exposed key weaknesses in his game.

The defeat, while disappointing, serves as a wake-up call, highlighting the improvements he must make before competing with the UFC’s top-tier strikers. Despite the setback, Magomedov remains one of the most exciting prospects in the division. With the right adjustments, he has the potential to bounce back stronger than ever. And like one of his Instagram posts stated: “The pirate sails into the harbor, but I will return!”

The question now is—who’s next for ‘Shara Bullet’? Let us know the next best challenge for the Dagestani in the comments below.