Shara Magomedov's long-awaited UFC decorator saw him a horror injury when he just beat Marc-Andre Barriault in his first fight that came from a defeat.
The fan favorite Dagestani burst through last year with a series of impressive victories, but suffered his first loss in February when the page of Michael 'Venom' turned out to be too much in Riyadh. Since then he has plotted a comeback and wasted little time on his way to the Octagon.
He also did not get an easy route and took a 15-Fight UFC veteran Barriault in his return to action. And both men finished in their own blood after a horrible war war with three laps that both saw them horrible cuts.
Shara Magomedov vs Marc-Andre Barriault Result
Shara Magomedov received the welcome from a hero for his return to Abu Dhabi, where he is one of the fastest rising stars. He opened with legs to keep the pressure from a distance, but was finally taken for two minutes, albeit with a limited impact.
The beating of Magomedov looked a lot sharper than the previous time-out when he walked around well, forcing Marc-Andre Barriault to chase him around the cage. All the while the Russian road to the leg kicked, which seemed rough after a few minutes.
The second saw both men open a bit more, with Magomedov cutting his rival on top of the head with an elbow within the first few minutes. Once he had found his reach, the Russian began to flow and feel the fight run in his favor.
But when all seem to be lost, Barriault Magomedov caught with a huge counter -hook that the Russian fluctuated. He succeeded it with big uppercuts in the conflict when the fight became a real war.
Within that clinch, Barriault malignant broke the nose of Magomedov, so that he wore abundant amounts of blood on his face. However, the Russian fought and managed to rock him again, making the finish almost in the last seconds of round two.
The third was fought at a much slower pace after the corner of Magomedov demanded that he just moved and scored enough to win the round. However, when Barriault was involved, the Russian was able to land large knees and stairs, which ultimately secured the victory.
The jury members scored the fight 30-27 across the board, but that did not tell the story of how difficult a fight he had. He even tried some English in his interview after the fight with Michael Bisping, and insisted that he would not repeat old mistakes by calling opponents above his figure.
Shara Magomedov changed his song after the first defeat
After his defeat against 'MVP', Magomedov had to make a number of health problems before he prepared for his comeback. He also made a great attitude shift that has changed his perspective on fighting from an entertainment company in more exclusively sporting endeavor.
“I said before that I had health problems, but at the same time I said that I felt twice as good as I felt before,” Shara Bullet 'gave the pre-Fight Media Day. “But in reality my coaches say that I can feel even better and be twice as good as I am now.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
“As long as I stay disciplined and this with the right mentality approach, I can be great. Before I used to come here as an entertainer, just to entertain myself and my fans and have fun, it was like a hobby for me.
“Now I have a completely different mindset, it's like a job for me. I think I can keep going now.”