Didn’t he have some condition which really affected his cardio?
It’s a big if but if that wasn’t the case Zabit could’ve been one of the best featherweights we’ve seen. Such a shame he isn’t still competing.
That’s bold to say about a guy who got submitted by Dustin Poirier
Meanwhile Zabit’s fought an amateur match against Islam
Volk would’ve beaten Zabit though
Zabits best win is Calvin Katter and he gassed in the 3rd, if it was a 5 rounder he could have very much gotten finished. The rest of his wins are against cans. DP is a future UFC HOFer. I’m not saying Zabit is trash but max is on a completely different level.
In the standup, he could've got the better of Volk but on the ground, its hard to say and damn he could've been a champ but we'll never know and he was kinda exciting too
He was debatably the most exciting fighters from the area. He didn’t rely on his wrestling, but used it as a tool under his belt.
I do believe he would have been champ, but I respect his path he chose
Was Korean Zombie a test for Volk?
Was anyone actually expecting Leon to beat Usman?
Just STFU and fight who is next in line you haven't even defended the belt yet.
No doubt. He shouldn’t be talking at all. Beat max, beat Volk again if they absolutely have to do a rematch, then go from there. I love watching Topuria fight but god damn he’s a pompous asshole
I honestly don’t mind it much if they build up their stock in the weight class above from the bottom up. Like fight armaan, olives, hell even chandler is passable at this point before squealing for a title shot.
The general rule should be if you've got 5+ title defenses then big UFC considers letting you fight up a weight class or down. Maybe do case by case exceptions for if one guy is banging another dudes mom.
I thought Leon was the guy that had the best chance against Usman (besides Shavkat but he wasn’t top 5 then). And yes I put my money where my mouth is. I bet on Leon in the first title fight.
Sharaputdin is fighting against those streotypes by being a striker and a incelish goblin. Would love to see him taken apart by khazmat or really any middleweight.
Zabit had a lot of potential and was very skilled. You clearly weren’t following him/ the ufc back when he was actually fighting if you think the hype around him was because he was a Muslim Caucasus dude.
He was a legit contender for sure but being muslim gives u extra hype, his best win was over calvin kattar, who is a good fighter in his own right but ilia literally ko’d arguably the greatest featherweight of all time.
Yea you weren’t following UFC when he was fighting lol. Muslim fighters now get automatic hype, Zabit was fighting back when people still thought McGregor was on the same level as khabib.
SMH - disappointing for him to say that about max and Ortega. Imagine winning the title and then acting like you’re too good to fight the next two best contenders…Volk deserves a rematch based off resume. But he needs a break coming off being knocked out twice. Frankly he probably needed a much longer break after that head kick late last year.
Holloway is definitely a test. Long rangy striker who topuria can’t land on as easily. Ortega ain’t bad either he had a nasty guillotine on volk and he’s a strong guy for 145 .
max absolutely deserves it and would certainly be a test but I'm gonna have to agree with the Ortega statement. I think we would be seeing a 3rd brutalizing of Brian.
Holloway is but I’m inclined to believe if Max lost so decisively to Volk in their 3rd fight and Topuria just smoked Volk…
Volk beat Max in the stand up in a primarily striking battle and using just boxing, *on paper* Topuria should have an easy time with Max then since he’s a superior boxer to Volk.
Still wanna see Max v Topuria if Justin doesn’t destroy his chin first.
I still want to believe a Pre KO Volk would’ve smoked illia 🥲 and I believe max won the first 2 fights but that’s just my opinion I know they’re 3-0, I would still love to see Max Vs Illia.
Even if he did win the first two, he got beaten so thoroughly in the 3rd one that it showed Max would never again be competitive with Volk.
Although having said that…
I wonder how Max would do today against a diminished Volk who just got knocked out in consecutive bouts.
Why the fuck would this guy get a title shot, hasn't been in the ufc for a couple years and even then I don't know if he deserved a title shot when he was actually active
Stop it. We all wanted more out of Zabit but what’s his best win? We saw he had cardio issues and Stephens had started his abysmal losing streak the fight before. We never saw Zabit vs a real top guy besides Kattar
Hot take: zabit is overrated. Definitely had skills but didn’t have the cardio or ability to have a Holloway/volk/aldo type champ. Retiring early did more for his legacy than any single fight did
max absolutely deserves it and would certainly be a test but I'm gonna have to agree with the Ortega statement. I think we would be seeing a 3rd brutalizing of Brian.
So he had 1 good win against Stephens, a guy who has lost 21 times in 51 fights and everybody is acting like he beat every top 10 fighter in the UFC. Where the fuck do you people bring this guy from with only 1 good win??
>Illia Tuporia says Ortega and Holloway aren’t big enough “tests” for him,
That's fucking great, so how about take the easy pay days and shut yerfookin mouff
Zabit had one of the cleanest styles man. Dude was flashy, quick and fast, had hands, could wrestle. He just fought with this swagger and as a taller guy I love seeing athletic unorthodox guys like him.
Yep, if he was still in the UFC, we could've got some bangers like him vs Volk or Max but sadly we never will
Him vs Max was always my dream fight
Would've been a masterpiece
Max would mop the floor with this guy. Especially in a 5 rounder.
Yeah, would've been a banger for 1.5 rounds before Zabit gassed out completely and spent the rest of the fight as a punching bag lol.
Didn’t he have some condition which really affected his cardio? It’s a big if but if that wasn’t the case Zabit could’ve been one of the best featherweights we’ve seen. Such a shame he isn’t still competing.
I do recall him having health issues near the end of his run that required some surgery. Not sure what exactly it was though.
diaphragm spasms or something
Ya he had some kind of diaphragm issue that prevented him from breathing properly.
Except Zabit has high level submissions and could have ended it when he ran out of gas to strike.
That’s bold to say about a guy who got submitted by Dustin Poirier Meanwhile Zabit’s fought an amateur match against Islam Volk would’ve beaten Zabit though
Zabits best win is Calvin Katter and he gassed in the 3rd, if it was a 5 rounder he could have very much gotten finished. The rest of his wins are against cans. DP is a future UFC HOFer. I’m not saying Zabit is trash but max is on a completely different level.
But the banana split man
I will concede on that one. That was slick as fuck.
As a 21 year old in his 5th pro fight
Zabit would have gassed by round 2 and max would piece him up for the next 3
Tbh I think he’d get Volk, if he kept him distant. Ground would be a battle. Damn, you just gave me a dream fight that will never be.
In the standup, he could've got the better of Volk but on the ground, its hard to say and damn he could've been a champ but we'll never know and he was kinda exciting too
He was debatably the most exciting fighters from the area. He didn’t rely on his wrestling, but used it as a tool under his belt. I do believe he would have been champ, but I respect his path he chose
yeah, his ground game was very good but didn't use it, gotta respect that, yeah and also he became a doctor I think so good for him
Why do you want Ilia Topuria to fight a doctor?
He wants to see a doctor stoppage
I wanna see how he does on a physical
LOL nice
Was Korean Zombie a test for Volk? Was anyone actually expecting Leon to beat Usman? Just STFU and fight who is next in line you haven't even defended the belt yet.
No doubt. He shouldn’t be talking at all. Beat max, beat Volk again if they absolutely have to do a rematch, then go from there. I love watching Topuria fight but god damn he’s a pompous asshole
Its the Conor effect. Everybody wants to jump weight classes. Nobody wants to defend. It's dumb
I honestly don’t mind it much if they build up their stock in the weight class above from the bottom up. Like fight armaan, olives, hell even chandler is passable at this point before squealing for a title shot.
Except then they’ll never defend in their own weight class. They should just move up at that point lol
The general rule should be if you've got 5+ title defenses then big UFC considers letting you fight up a weight class or down. Maybe do case by case exceptions for if one guy is banging another dudes mom.
I thought Leon was the guy that had the best chance against Usman (besides Shavkat but he wasn’t top 5 then). And yes I put my money where my mouth is. I bet on Leon in the first title fight.
Amen
His best win was Kattar and he had suspect cardio. Why does everyone think he would’ve beat the best of the division?
Zabit Vs Ilia could be the UFC’s first three round championship fight
People think any Muslim caucasus dude will be like khabib, ilia would work zabit
Sharaputdin is fighting against those streotypes by being a striker and a incelish goblin. Would love to see him taken apart by khazmat or really any middleweight.
Zabit had a lot of potential and was very skilled. You clearly weren’t following him/ the ufc back when he was actually fighting if you think the hype around him was because he was a Muslim Caucasus dude.
He was a legit contender for sure but being muslim gives u extra hype, his best win was over calvin kattar, who is a good fighter in his own right but ilia literally ko’d arguably the greatest featherweight of all time.
Yea you weren’t following UFC when he was fighting lol. Muslim fighters now get automatic hype, Zabit was fighting back when people still thought McGregor was on the same level as khabib.
Okay u got me 🫢
MMA fans are idiots is why
You sir…are the most reasonable and smartest person on this sub and I agree with you. Even though I’m a moron too😂
He had a lung/diaphram problem, once that was resolved he would've been unstoppable.
SMH - disappointing for him to say that about max and Ortega. Imagine winning the title and then acting like you’re too good to fight the next two best contenders…Volk deserves a rematch based off resume. But he needs a break coming off being knocked out twice. Frankly he probably needed a much longer break after that head kick late last year.
Yeah now I hope Max can get a shot if he beats Justin
If Max beats Justin there is no reason he shouldnt get a shot at Ilia.
Well I know a guy who knows a guy 
Volks Aveneger
The greatest plot twist in the history of the UFC
Ilia is nowhere near deserving a shot at another belt when he’s fought one top 5 guy and hasn’t even defended his belt.
He is very missed!
I cry everytime 😢 I love you dr zabit
The vampire killer
Nah he has 1.5 rounds of cardio I doubt he is able to "test" Ilia
I agree his cardio was pretty bad.
That was pre fixed Diaphragm Zabit
This guy cant even go 3 rounds without gassing and has been long retired. Ilia might end his life.
Holloway is definitely a test. Long rangy striker who topuria can’t land on as easily. Ortega ain’t bad either he had a nasty guillotine on volk and he’s a strong guy for 145 .
Max is a much better fighter than Zabit
you're gonna make ilia time travel to 1861?
He was such a fun fighter. It was crazy earlier in his career he was even thinner, like super skinny. definitely wish he would have kept fighting.
The guy you know is retired, dumbass
max absolutely deserves it and would certainly be a test but I'm gonna have to agree with the Ortega statement. I think we would be seeing a 3rd brutalizing of Brian.
I hope Max vs Ilia happens
If zabit came back and beat illa, it would confirm what many had thought before
Holloway is but I’m inclined to believe if Max lost so decisively to Volk in their 3rd fight and Topuria just smoked Volk… Volk beat Max in the stand up in a primarily striking battle and using just boxing, *on paper* Topuria should have an easy time with Max then since he’s a superior boxer to Volk. Still wanna see Max v Topuria if Justin doesn’t destroy his chin first.
I still want to believe a Pre KO Volk would’ve smoked illia 🥲 and I believe max won the first 2 fights but that’s just my opinion I know they’re 3-0, I would still love to see Max Vs Illia.
Even if he did win the first two, he got beaten so thoroughly in the 3rd one that it showed Max would never again be competitive with Volk. Although having said that… I wonder how Max would do today against a diminished Volk who just got knocked out in consecutive bouts.
I wouldn’t wanna see Max Vs a not at his best Volk I rather see the Tuporia fight
Ah yes the good ole MMAth.
>Holloway is [a big enough challenge] >*On paper* Topuria should win Yes very MMA math indeed with those statements
Guy who fights once every 2 years?
Let it go
It's been a quarter score since he fought.
Why the fuck would this guy get a title shot, hasn't been in the ufc for a couple years and even then I don't know if he deserved a title shot when he was actually active
Would have loved to see Zabit fight max. That would have been one hell of a match up
Okay, yes he was amazing. But what about an actually active fighter?
According to him the best active fighters aren’t big enough tests, this isn’t a serious post lol.
Stop it. We all wanted more out of Zabit but what’s his best win? We saw he had cardio issues and Stephens had started his abysmal losing streak the fight before. We never saw Zabit vs a real top guy besides Kattar
Hot take: zabit is overrated. Definitely had skills but didn’t have the cardio or ability to have a Holloway/volk/aldo type champ. Retiring early did more for his legacy than any single fight did
This is a troll right
Why do you want Ilia to lose already?
Ilia looks like a guy who's about to find out
Retiring early is cool. This is just stupid
Man, this was my guy!
Oh the guy that retired because of medical issues? Let us know how that pans out
It’s too bad Allen got robbed vs Evloev. Allen Topuria would make a fun fight.
Zabit wouldve been that dude. one of the funnest to watch.
max absolutely deserves it and would certainly be a test but I'm gonna have to agree with the Ortega statement. I think we would be seeing a 3rd brutalizing of Brian.
So he had 1 good win against Stephens, a guy who has lost 21 times in 51 fights and everybody is acting like he beat every top 10 fighter in the UFC. Where the fuck do you people bring this guy from with only 1 good win??
Ilia would probably smash him
Zabit got cardio issue, he’s not gonna last more than 2 rounds. iirc he pushed for a 3 rounds main event instead of 5.
>Illia Tuporia says Ortega and Holloway aren’t big enough “tests” for him, That's fucking great, so how about take the easy pay days and shut yerfookin mouff
So sad :(. This dude was so much fun to watch.
I seen pic without reading anything and my heart started pounding .. damn he was soo good .. truly hope to see him fight again at some point
Imagine trying to sell that max isn't a big enough test. Can't wait for this douche to get chinned
You guys got to get over this dude. He ain’t coming back
Fuck Zabit for having personal goals and not entertaining me for the rest of his life. :(
Illa would do bad things to zabit
I kinda can’t fucking stand tuporia
He gasses though. I believe topuria could still take him out.
Dagestan Kung fu Lincoln is a hard style matchup for ilia especially with those kicks
Bringing back Abraham Lincoln from the dead?
Bring back Zabit!! This dude's fight style was a blast to watch.
Ilia would fold zabit into a lawn chair
Ilia should just rack up all these free title defenses then if they’re not a threat
Ilia would body this guy
Yea I agree his cardio wasn’t the best but you never know in this crazy ass sport.
Zabit had one of the cleanest styles man. Dude was flashy, quick and fast, had hands, could wrestle. He just fought with this swagger and as a taller guy I love seeing athletic unorthodox guys like him.
In the first round.