Hair-Pulling in Training Led UFC Fighter to Shave Head, Says Magomedov Sparring Partner

At UFC Baku on June 27, 2026, Shara Magomedov pulled Michel Pereira’s hair during their middleweight co-main event. Referee Herb Dean warned him for it, but no penalty followed.

The grab sparked debate over Magomedov’s training style. Valter Walker trained alongside him at GOR MMA in Moscow under coach Gor Azizyan and remembers it vividly. “When I had long hair, every time I trained with Shara, he would pull my hair and knee me in the face while holding onto it,” Walker recalls. The punishment was real enough that he made a choice: shave his head, partly to stop it from happening again.

Magomedov’s record stands at 17-1. He’s also blind in one eye—a factor that shapes his entire career. U.S. athletic commissions won’t clear him to fight stateside, so he only competes overseas.

Walker himself carries a 15-1 record and has his next fight lined up: Thomas Petersen in Abu Dhabi on July 25, when the UFC returns to ‘Fight Island’.