Here’s one you never saw coming: Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Jorge Masvidal, with a twist.Russian quasi-MMA league Hype FC issued news on Friday that it would hold an event in Rio de Janeiro on March 11. At the top of that card you’ll see a wrestling match between ‘Shara Bullet’ Magomedov and Masvidal, with the two locked in a fight for five to ten minutes at the Farmasi Arena in Brazil’s second largest city; Sao Paulo comes first. A previous big-name wrestling bout hosted by Hype FC between Arman Tsarukyan and the aforementioned Magomedov resulted in a draw last year.
Hype FC, the target of at least one police raid in Moscow on a host of charges ranging from drug trafficking to fight fixing, has been flagged by Sherdog Fight Finder for its illegality. While the league claims to host MMA matches, it does so with modified rules, including limited wrestling time with automatic standups/separations. It also recently put together a reality show in the same vein as “The Ultimate Fighter” with coaches Arman Tsarukyan and Khamzat Chimaev, only with more brawls and confrontations.
Fight for hype
The organization has not announced any other competitions for the show in Rio in less than two weeks, but is focusing on this
MMA adjacent fight card in Yerevan, Armenia, at the end of March. Another wrestling bout between Tsarukyan and Colby Covington was linked to this event, but its mention has been removed from Hype FC’s social media and only remains on the ticketing site. It’s expected that some Pop MMA and bare-knuckle matches will be sprinkled into the bill.The 41-year-old Masvidal retired from MMA in 2023 after a decision loss to Gilbert Burns, extending his three-year losing streak to four in a row. He returned to combat sports the following year, facing Nate Diaz in a boxing match, where he fell short by majority decision. “Gamebred” hinted at his return to MMA, targeting the much-talked-about UFC White House event for June, but as of yet no plans have materialized. The former backyard fighter, who has two submission wins in his 35 professional victories, will compete in a professional wrestling match for the first time, a match that will end in a draw if no one lands a submission.
Magomedov made his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut after Masvidal hung up his gloves, and he went on to win his first four outings with the Las Vegas-based promotion. He lost for the first time against Michael Page in February 2025, and bounced back five months later with a scorecards victory over Marc-Andre Barriault.
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