Sharaputdin Magomedov Nickname ‘Bullet’, ‘Pirate’ – Meaning Behind the UFC’s “Evil” Dagestani’s Monikers

Sharaputdin Magomedov has greatly impressed the fighting community with his Muay Thai skills inside the Octagon. Despite hailing from Makhachkala, Dagestan, Magomedov likes to rely on his striking more than wrestling. And its effectiveness is reflected in his professional MMA record. Going on a 14-fight win streak, the middleweight fighter is yet to face defeat.

While the Russian does possess some outstanding fighting skills, he is more famous because of his nickname. The 30-year-old has a menacing personality and is a threat to many inside the Octagon. Before his next big clash, we take a look at his different nicknames.

Why is Sharaputdin Magomedov called ‘Pirate’?

30-year-old Magomedov is one of those rare fighters who is combating his battle outside the Octagon. The Russian fighter has had his right eye removed and replaced with a fake one after losing eyesight in it. However, he is unfazed by the disadvantage and confident of making a name for himself in the biggest fighting promotion in the world. He also has a funny side to him and this is how he gave himself the nickname of ‘Pirate’. Before his UFC debut, the Russian fighter termed himself as a ‘Pirate’ based on him having one eye.

During his promo shoot the 30-year-old featured in a video and said, “The pirate is here. See you in the octagon. I came for my gold, brother, October 21, Insha’Allah.” Magomedov’s moniker is ‘Shara Bullet’ and most of the fans feel it suits his style. However, it now seems that he wants to be known more as a ‘Pirate’ and is ready to conquer the Octagon. And as a pirate, he does loot the treasure of victories with his phenomenal performance in the arena.

Sharaputdin Magomedov has more than one nickname, it seems, and the moniker that’s been picked up by the fans of the UFC is his ‘Bullet’ moniker. As we tried to take a look at the backstory behind it, Magomedov revealed how he adopted that moniker.

Meaning behind Sharapudtin Magomedov’s nickname ‘Shara Bullet’

Hypocorisms or name-shortening isn’t an uncommon thing, and if we look at Sharaputdin Magomedov, his name is already shortened to ‘Shara’, and his friend back home used to call him by that name. On his fighter profile on the UFC’s website, the 30-year-old revealed that people close to him called him ‘Shara Pulya’. While creating an Instagram account, Magomedov decided to translate the ‘Pulya’ word from his name in English, which turned out to be ‘Bullet’. Since then, he’s kept his moniker.

“I had different nicknames before. Shara is a short version of my name. Friends and relatives called me Shara Pulya (bullet in Russian) for a long time,” Sharaputdin Magomedov stated. “When I was creating an Instagram account, I already knew some English and learned that ‘Pulya’ is Bullet in English, so I wrote it, and people started calling me that since”, he further added.

So, ‘Shara Bullet’ has had a great start to his UFC run. In his last outing, the 30-year-old took on Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC on ABC 7 and comprehensively edged him past with a unanimous decision victory. Now, his sights are on the challenge ahead against Armen Petrosyan at UFC 308. Could he maintain his unbeaten and winning streak? That remains to be seen.