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LAS VEGAS – After another UFC win, and his 13th straight overall, Zabit Magomedsharipov is starting to think about the pot of gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow.

Magomedsharipov (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) on Saturday took a unanimous decision from veteran featherweight Jeremy Stephens (28-16 MMA, 15-15 UFC) to close out the UFC 235 preliminary card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN, including Magomedsharipov-Stephens, and UFC Fight Pass.

With the win, Magomedsharipov moved to 5-0 in the UFC and is thinking about being in position to potentially fight for a title next.

“I think I’m close enough – I’m 5-0, and the belt is up for grabs,” Magomedsharipov said backstage after his win. “I’m ready to fight my next fight for a title, or wait for the winner of (Jose) Aldo and (Alexander) Volkanovski.”

A proposed fight between ex-champ Aldo and Volkanovski hasn’t been made official yet and so far is just in the rumor stage. But Magomedsharipov seems to believe if he can’t be next in line, it wouldn’t be bad to be in the on-deck circle for the winner of that fight to earn dibs at a shot at the belt.

Things are in flux right now since champion Max Holloway is moving up to lightweight to challenge for a second concurrent title against Dustin Poirier in an interim 155-pound title bout at UFC 236. The outcome of that fight next month clearly will affect where featherweight fighters like Magomedsharipov fall into place afterward.

But Magomedsharipov knew going into UFC 235 against Stephens that all he could do is win or get sent back to the middle of the pack.

“In general, I’m very happy with my performance,” Magomedsharipov said. “I got to 5-0 now. This was a good performance against a top opponent, so I’m happy about it. I needed this win.

“… I knew Jeremy was a tough opponent from the beginning. I was ready for everything. I had a good camp back home in Dagestan … and then I came to the U.S. about a month and a half in advance. My coaches here, Mark Henry and Ricardo Almeida, did a lot of work, so we had a good preparation.”

For more from Magomedsharipov, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC 235, check out the UFC Events section of the site.