White Warns Shara ‘You’ll Get Beat Here Very Quickly’

New hype sensation Shara Bullet may have won at UFC 294, but White sees losses in his future if he doesn’t fix his takedown defense.

Sharaputdin Magomedov arrived for his big league debut at UFC 294 with a lot of hype — partially because of his 11-0 record (with 10 KO/TKOs) and partially because the guy looks like a zombie pirate from a horror movie. He justified the fanfare with a strong showing against Bruno Silva, winning a decision 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards.

“Shara Bullet” hit Silva with kicks from all angles on the feet, and then carved his opponent’s skull up with elbows when he was on his back. He did end up stuck in that position a bit too much, though. Following the fight, UFC CEO Dana White lauded Magomedov for the win but warned him about moving forward without better takedown defense.

“He’s a bad boy. He’s tough,” White said at the UFC 294 post-fight press conference. “His first fight in the UFC — I don’t know how he’s from Dagestan and has zero takedown defense! But other than that he looked incredible. I like the kid.”

A reporter asked if Shara was the future of the sport, and White pushed back on that idea.

“I don’t know if he’s the future of the sport, but he’s definitely got a future here,” he replied. “He’s gotta work on his takedown defense. In the UFC you have to have the full game. Obviously his kickboxing is nasty. And leg kicks, head kicks, elbows. But he’s gotta tighten up that wrestling game or he’ll get beat here very quickly.”

That doesn’t mean White won’t turn “Bullet” around quickly, though. During his UFC 294 post-fight presser interview, Magomedov revealed he’d asked the UFC to book him for the upcoming UFC China card in December.

“I already spoke to Dana White about it, I told Dana White to give me the opportunity to fight in Shanghai,” he said. “Dana White said ‘Sure, let’s go. Let’s put the foot to the gas.’”

“I lived in Shanghai for a long time,” Magomed added. “I’m 10-0 in Shanghai. I’ve never lost a fight in Shanghai. I have a lot of fans in Shanghai. So, I would love to go out there to China and show a great fight. Dana White says it’s going to work, so next month I will see you in Shanghai.”

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For complete UFC 294 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.