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

Zabit Magomedsharipov believes the UFC did not want to make him champion because of the dominance of Russian fighters in the promotion. He stated that fights were postponed three to four times and they could not come to an agreement with the UFC. According to Zabit, there was an understanding that if Yair Rodriguez pulled out a third time, he would automatically get a title shot, but the UFC found many excuses when that happened. The UFC then offered him different opponents like the Korean Zombie and others, but Zabit maintains that at the time, he and Yair Rodriguez were the real contenders for the belt.