Having joined the UFC with an undefeated record, Sharaputdin Magomedov started his run in Dana White’s promotion with a bang. However, it was his fifth fight that showed the fans that despite his outstanding striking skills, ‘Bullet’ has a few holes in his game as well after dropping a unanimous decision loss to Michael ‘Venom’ Page. However, Magomedov came right back in the winning column after an impressive win over Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC Abu Dhabi, but not without getting hurt.

The fight started off with Marc-Andre Barriault trying to close the distance on Sharaputdin Magomedov, as the latter tried to maintain his distance. As such, the opening round wasn’t as eventful as some fans would have hoped. But the crowd saw blood starting to pour in the second round, as the Canadian fighter suffered a cut on his head and the Dagestan native bled out of his nose, which was broken. Despite that, both Magomedov and Barriault were very much in the fight.

The second round also saw both fighters have their moments, as Sharaputdin Magomedov came dangerously close to ending the fight with a knockout at the end of the round. But Marc-Andre Barriault survived, and as both fighters got locked in for the final five minutes, the crowd in attendance cheered them on. They were certainly pleased with the performance they put up, as the final round also saw a close encounter, and it would be safe to say that this fight was certainly a ‘Fight of the Night’ contender. Well, the final bell to end the third round sounded off, with Magomedov standing tall as the winner via a unanimous decision.

Magomedov fights unilaterally blind in one eye, an issue stemming from a serious training injury back in 2016 that led to extensive surgeries and permanent vision loss in that eye. That extraordinary adversity gives extra resonance to his striking flair and resilience and fans have pointed it out post‑Abu Dhabi. In fan commentary across r/ufc threads and on X, users have both lauded and expressed concern about his condition. One Reddit user, referencing his one‑eyed vision, posted, “You can easily tell this man is blind in one eye, his pupil is literally gray.”

Well, Sharaputdin Magomedov may have to sit out this year with the nose injury, as he’s likely to receive a medical suspension. This may cause some problems for Dana White, who has always had ‘Bullet’ fights on the UFC events taking place in the Middle East. The 55-year-old may need to keep an alternative option at hand if Magomedov has to stay a bit longer on the sidelines until his UFC return.

Despite the possibility of Sharaputdin missing out on another fight in Abu Dhabi later this year, he has to be feeling good about getting back on winning terms. In fact, he mentioned how hard he’d trained for Marc-Andre Barriault after learning an important lesson in his last fight.

Sharaputdin Magomedov admits that UFC fighters are on a different level

Kai Asakura and Patchy Mix, among many others, found out that the UFC is a whole other playing field, as both of them lost on their debuts. But when Sharaputdin Magomedov made his way into the UFC, he went on a 4-fight winning streak. Given that the fight community has witnessed his pre-UFC highlights, they were sure that he was going to steamroll through Michael ‘Venom’ Page, which didn’t happen.

Having lost the zero in his record, Sharaputdin Magomedov realized that the fighters in the UFC are not like the fighters in the other promotions. “Today, I’m happy. My opponent [was] very strong. Hard fighter,” ‘Bullet’ stated in his post-fight interview. “UFC not easy fighters. Very high [level], hard fighters.” Well, it seems like he will be taking each and every opponent in the future as seriously as he took Marc Andre-Barriault, who gave him a run for his money.

Well, it will be interesting to see what lies ahead for Sharaputdin Magomedov after his recent success. But in the meantime, let us know your thoughts on his win over Marc-Andre Barriault in the comments down below.