Sharaputdin Magomedov may have picked up another UFC win in Baku, but he’s already looking toward a much bigger name. Following his unanimous decision win over Michel Pereira in the UFC Baku co-main event, ‘Shara Bullet’ took aim at reigning middleweight champion Sean Strickland, suggesting the American is unlikely to ever agree to face him since he refuses to compete outside of the United States.

“He’s like a domestic champion,” Magomedov told Red Corner MMA. “Just a home boy who acts like a big hero in his gym. For example, if they invited him to Azerbaijan, he wouldn’t come because he’s scared.

“He won’t leave America. 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.”

Sharaputdin Magomedov didn’t stop just there.

“If he ever comes to Abu Dhabi, he will ask for five security guards,” he added. “But most likely he won’t even go there. Like many others, he’d be like, ‘I’m an American, so I will only fight here.'”

The statements surely highlight a unique roadblock that could prevent a future title bout. Because Magomedov is blind in one eye, he is not medically approved to compete in the United States by most athletic commissions.

That has pushed the UFC to arrange all of his fights in international venues, despite Sean Strickland’s repeated insistence that he has no desire to fight anywhere other than America.

‘Tarzan’ believes he has already traveled enough during his UFC career, having competed in Australia, Brazil, and Canada on several occasions. Since becoming champion, he has insisted that anyone who wants the middleweight title must come to him now.

That reality makes a clash between the two really difficult to book for the matchmakers, even without considering Sharaputdin Magomedov’s current rank in the division. Despite being 6-1 in the UFC with his win over Pereira, the Russian has yet to break into the official middleweight rankings.

Because Michel Pereira was also unranked, there is no assurance that this Baku victory will be enough to propel ‘Shara Bullet’ into the top 15. However, it is worth noting that Magomedov had another reason to mention Sean Strickland.

Since Pereira trains at Xtreme Couture with the UFC champion, recent clips from the gym showed up on social media where Sean Strickland humorously tried to mimic Sharaputdin Magomedov’s spinning attacks during sparring. But it seems like they failed to impress ‘Shara Bullet.’

“I don’t think he can do it like me,” Magomedov said. “It was an imitation, a pale one.”

Now that’s some serious shade thrown by the middleweight. And as expected, it didn’t take long for ‘Tarzan’ to respond.

Sean Strickland fires back after Sharaputdin Magomedov’s comments

After the videos of Sharaputdin Magomedov’s recent trash talk went viral online, the UFC middleweight champion appeared puzzled that an unranked contender was already calling him out.

While Magomedov claimed that Sean Strickland was avoiding international fights, the champion wasn’t buying the hype.

“It makes me laugh. Bro, you fought my teammate… There are levels to this haha,” Sean Strickland wrote on X, responding to a post about Magomedov’s comments.

The reaction came shortly after Magomedov’s controversial win over Michel Pereira, a fight that sparked debate due to repeated fouls that went unpunished during the co-main event.

While ‘Shara Bullet’ provided Azerbaijan with another victory, many fans and fighters believed referee Herb Dean should have deducted a point for repeated hair-pulling incidents.

For now, though, a showdown with ‘Tarzan’ appears to be a long way off for the contender. Sharaputdin Magomedov still needs to climb the middleweight rankings, and ‘Tarzan’ has made it clear that he has no intention to leave the United States. Unless one of those positions changes, the war of words may be the closest the two get to sharing the Octagon.