Zabit Magomedsharipov says UFC didn't want him as champion due to Russian dominance

Zabit Magomedsharipov believes the UFC prevented him from getting a title shot because of the dominance of Russian fighters in the promotion. He says fights were postponed 3-4 times and negotiations broke down. According to Zabit, there was an agreement that if Yair Rodriguez pulled out a third time, he would automatically get a title fight, but the UFC found excuses. At the time, Zabit felt the real contenders were himself and Yair Rodriguez, though the promotion kept offering him other opponents like Chan Sung Jung instead.