Still no return timetable for promising welterweight Adlan Amagov
In early January, Chechen striking phenom Adlan Amagov was scheduled to compete against Jason High, but he never made it to fight night. About a month before the scheduled date, an opponent switch was announced. Amagov was out with little explanation. Rumors spread that he was retiring due to religious reasons. His management quickly dispelled those, but couldn't offer a timetable for his return.
At the time he pulled out of the High fight, his team said the situation would be reassessed in the spring. Almost six months later, he has yet to resurface in the UFC, and there is still no definitive date for the 27-year-old to tangle with UFC welterweights.
Still, his management is adamant that Amagov has not put MMA behind him.
"He's definitely not retired," MVC management's Mike Constantino told FOX Sports. "He had to take an extended break and that's where we're at right now. I hope he comes back soon. The division is wide open and he's coming off an amazing win. I've said it before, Adlan is the best striker I've ever either coached, trained with, sparred with, anything. There's no one like him. I've never seen someone like him the way he can kick and punch and move, so I hope he gets back in there soon."
Amagov (13-2-1) has only lost a single time over the last six years, and that to current welterweight No. 1 contender Robbie Lawler. He's won both of his UFC bouts since joining the promotion last spring, defeating Chris Spang and T.J. Waldburger, the latter by first-round knockout.
Earlier this week, Amagov was rumored to have won a Russian Interior Ministry Integrated Martial Arts championship, although that could not be independently confirmed.
However, according to Constantino, Amagov's reasons for suspending his UFC career don't allow him the time to configure a full training camp and compete at the elite UFC level, and he appears unlikely to return until he can do so. Though Constantino declined to offer specifics of his situation out of respect for Amagov's wishes, he warns not to write off Amagov, either.
"It's just personal family stuff, personal business," he said. "He's a very private person. He doesn't want the reasons out there. He didn't want to put an official statement out there. He just had to take some time off, and that's it."
