Sharaputdin Magomedov improved his UFC record to 6-1 with a very controversial unanimous decision win over Michel Pereira at UFC Baku, but Brendan Schaub believes ‘Shara Bullet’ isn’t ready to fight for the middleweight title just yet.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former UFC heavyweight claimed Magomedov squandered a golden opportunity by failing to make a bigger statement in the co-main event.

“Magomedov, one-eyed pirate, Michel Pereira. Again, with, Shara Bullet, fun to watch,” he said. “Looks like a villain from any 80s action movie. But what do you do with him? For Shara Bullet, this should have been a marquee fight to get him big fights.

“You gotta finish Michel Pereira, and you can’t cheat. You can’t, you can’t be pulling hair, man.”

Brendan Schaub was referring to the controversy over Shara Magomedov’s win that had the MMA world buzzing. During the first round, referee Herb Dean repeatedly warned ‘Shara Bullet’ for pulling Michel Pereira‘s hair while defending on the ground.

But that’s not all, as Dean also warned Magomedov about an eye poke later in the fight but didn’t deduct a point for either foul. So, it is no surprise that it led to some significant condemnation from fans and fighters alike.

Had a point been deducted for the continuous hair pulling, the bout would have ended in a draw rather than a unanimous decision victory. Even putting the controversy aside, ‘Big Brown’ believes Magomedov still faces an uphill climb in one of the UFC’s toughest divisions.

“Again, fun fighter, fan favorite, but just, I don’t see the road for him to become champion, especially at middleweight,” Brendan Schaub added in the YouTube video. “I just don’t see him getting there. Who knows?

“He also can’t fight in America because he has one eye. That’s the other issue.”

Interestingly, ‘Shara Bullet’ has already started looking toward a title fight. Following his win in Baku, Shara Magomedov targeted reigning middleweight champion Sean Strickland, referring to him as a “domestic champion” and claiming that the American refuses to compete outside of the United States.

While the comments did draw a lot of attention, the former UFC heavyweight believes there is a much bigger issue in the way of that matchup than trash talk.

Why Brendan Schaub’s comments on Shara Magomedov’s future make sense

The greatest challenge for Shara Magomedov isn’t his ability inside the cage. It’s the fact that his path to the title is significantly more complex than for most other contenders. Because the Russian is blind in one eye, most American athletic commissions have not cleared him to compete.

This has led the UFC to schedule all of his fights outside of the United States. Unfortunately for ‘Shara Bullet,’ Sean Strickland has said it time and again that he is no longer interested in fighting abroad. After competing in Australia, Brazil, and Canada earlier in his career, the middleweight champion has made it clear that anyone who wants his belt would have to face him on American soil.

This alone makes the matchup difficult to book. There’s also the question of where ‘Shara Bullet’ now ranks in the division. Despite rising to 6-1 in the UFC with his win over Michel Pereira, the Russian has yet to make it into the official middleweight rankings. And considering that Pereira was also unranked, there’s no certainty that this win in Baku will propel Magomedov into the top 15.

Some fans have compared Shara Magomedov’s situation to Michael Bisping, who notably won the UFC middleweight title despite being practically blind in one eye. However, despite the commonality of the damaged eye, the two circumstances are actually completely different.

‘The Count’ had already competed under US athletic commissions before the full extent of his eye injury became public. Meanwhile, ‘Shara Bullet’ entered the UFC with known monocular vision and has never been licensed to fight in most U.S. jurisdictions.

That is exactly why Brendan Schaub doesn’t see a simple path to the title. Even if Shara Magomedov continues to win, his medical restrictions, lack of a ranking, and the champion’s unwillingness to travel all contribute to a much more difficult championship opportunity than it seems on paper.