Zabit Magomedsharipov comes out of a seven-year layoff, wins grappling bout vs. UFC featherweight Youssef Zalal

Zabit Magomedsharipov returned to competition after a seven-year absence and won a grappling match against UFC featherweight Youssef Zalal on the ACBJJ 22 card at Ora Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, according to Yahoo Sports. The comeback is notable not for the setting alone, but for the way Magomedsharipov is attempting to re-enter elite combat sports at a high level after years away from active competition.

Magomedsharipov entered the bout with a reported professional record of 18-1, framing the return as a test of whether his long-developed skill set could translate back to live competition. Even with a lengthy hiatus, his background as one of the sport’s most technical grapplers has kept his name on fans’ radars, and this match served as an early marker of that competitive sharpness.

The opponent, Youssef Zalal, is identified in the report as an Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight. While both men compete in mixed martial arts and can share overlapping skill sets, ACBJJ is a grappling-focused event, meaning the match was set up less as a typical UFC-style bout and more as a pure grappling measuring stick for what each fighter can do when the rules and pacing shift toward submission-based grappling.

The Yahoo report describes the fight as a “grappling match,” and while it confirms Magomedsharipov won, it does not provide additional specifics in the information available here about the submission type, timing, or match progression. That matters for interpreting the comeback, because a win after a long layoff can come with very different implications depending on whether it was a controlled performance or a late scramble.

The event’s location also matters, with ACBJJ 22 staged in Istanbul, a city that has increasingly hosted international combat-sports events. For Magomedsharipov, this kind of return through a grappling platform rather than a full MMA fight suggests a deliberate ramp back into competition, using grappling as the most direct way to evaluate timing, stamina, and live decision-making after years away.

For UFC followers, the matchup functioned as a bridge between MMA branding and grappling credentials. Zalal’s presence as an established UFC fighter also underscores the cross-pollination happening between organizations and rule sets, as top athletes look for opportunities to test skills outside the Octagon while still building toward future MMA relevance.

What to watch next is whether Magomedsharipov’s successful return leads to additional competition in similar grappling settings or a transition back to mixed martial arts. If he continues to perform well, the question will turn from “can he return after years off?” to “how quickly can he reassert himself among the sport’s best,” especially given how much time has passed since his last appearance in regular competition.

In the meantime, the result at ACBJJ 22 offers a clear headline: Magomedsharipov is back, and he won. The finer details of how he won are likely to become a bigger part of the discussion as more full bout information, video highlights, or official event results are reviewed.