Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Yair Rodriguez Targeted for UFC Event on Aug. 29

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship is targeting a pivotal bout between featherweight contenders Zabit Magomedsharipov and Yair Rodriguez for its Aug. 29 event.

Magomedsharipov’s manager, Rizvan Magomedov, confirmed the news in an interview with Russian news outlet Tass.

“They are working on this fight,” Magomedov said. “They proposed Rodriguez to us because [Max] Holloway and [Alexander] Volkanovski will have a second fight. Therefore, we will fight with Yair. It will be a contender fight: Both fighters are on a good winning streak; the winner will fight for the title.”

The two featherweight standouts were intially scheduled to meet at UFC 228 in September 2018 before Rodriguez was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. The Las Vegas-based promotion briefly cut Rodriguez for reportedly refusing to face the Magomedsharipov earlier in 2018 but rescinded the release when the Mexican fighter agreed to the bout at UFC 228.

Magomedsharipov last appeared at UFC Fight Night 163 in Moscow, where he defeat Calvin Kattar by unanimous decision on Nov. 9. His 18-1 career mark includes six UFC triumphs, and he has finished six of his wins by KO/TKO and seven via submission.

Rodriguez is coming off a unanimous decision triumph in a rematch against Jeremy Stephens at UFC on ESPN 6 in October 2019 after an accidental eye poke prematurely ended their first meeting approximately one month earlier. “El Pantera” has lost just once in 10 UFC appearances overall.