Shara Bullet boasts UFC 308 finish ‘Knockout of the Century,’ better than Max Holloway at UFC 300

Shara Magomedov believes he did Max Holloway one better.

At UFC 308, “Shara Bullet” delivered a never-before-seen UFC finish when he smacked Armen Petrosyan with a double spinning backfist combination to score an unbelievable knockout. The sequence landed Magomedov at No. 4 in MMA Fighting’s 2024 Knockout of the Year list, three spots behind Holloway, who won for his buzzer-beating punch-out of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.

Magomedov enjoyed Holloway’s work, but explained why he feels his unique finish deserves equal recognition.

“Of course, I think mine is better because mine was really a work of art,” Magomedov told MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck via a Russian translator. “The Max knockout, even though it was fun to watch, it was basically a brawl, and how many times have we seen a brawl in a UFC fight? There’s been tons of them. But the one that I’ve done has never been done or never has been performed before in the octagon.”

Multiple publications anointed Holloway over Gaethje as the Knockout of the Year, a distinction Magomedov is fine with because he thinks his KO of Petrosyan will stand the test of time.

“I guess they’re right, they really did have a Knockout of the Year,” Magomedov said. “But mine was a Knockout of the Century.”

This Saturday at UFC Saudi Arabia, Magomedov goes toe-to-toe with former Bellator star Michael Page in the co-main event. It was Page who called for the matchup, which takes place at middleweight, one division above Page’s usual stomping grounds.

Magomedov initially called for a fight with Israel Adesanya after his UFC 308 win, but he was impressed by Page’s temerity and expects to steal the show, even with Adesanya taking on Nassourdine Imavov in the main event.

“I like the moves that he’s putting on,” Magomedov said of Page. “I like all the things that he’s doing in order to get this fight to happen. As long as whatever he has to do gets him into the octagon and through the octagon door healthy and in one piece and ready to fight, then all we have to do is show an exciting fun fight for the fans and I’m super excited about.

“So he’s now in my net. He’s in the pirate’s net and I’m going to reel him in.”