Shavkat Rakhmonov has finally hit back at Ian Machado Garry’s claims to a UFC title shot with a brutal social media takedown.
The rising Irish star suffered his sole skilled defeat to Rakhmonov last December at UFC 310, losing a razor-close decision. Nonetheless, the Kazakh star has been unable to construct on the momentum of that victory after being sidelined for a yr resulting from injuries sustained within the Garry fight.
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Within the meantime, Garry has scored dominant victories over Carlos Prates and former champion Belal Muhammad which have seen him bypass Rakhmonov within the rankings. Now, there’s a logjam atop the welterweight division as to who gets the primary shot at Islam Makhachev.
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Shavkat Rakhmonov tears Ian Machado Garry to shreds in brutal social media post
As a non-English speaker, it is usually rare to see Shavkat Rakhmonov engaging in trash talk together with his fellow divisional contenders. Nonetheless, that didn’t stop him taking to X and making his case for why he, not Ian Machado Garry, deserves the subsequent title shot at 170lb.
“No trash talk, just facts,” Rakhmonov wrote in suspiciously perfect English. “Ian Garry lost to me while I used to be injured. He hasn’t finished anyone in his last six fights, and Prates nearly stopped him. Doesn’t sound like a #1 contender to me.”
Garry has yet to reply, but he has spent the past few days since his UFC Qatar victory telling anyone who will listen about why he ought to be the division’s top contender. And the official rankings now reflect that, as he sits at number two behind only former champion Jack Della Maddalena, who just lost his belt.
Rakhmonov has been out of commission since that Garry fight, which he claims is resulting from injuries he brought into the cage. Nonetheless, that’s questionable given the Irishman’s love for oblique kicks, that are known to cause knee issues.
There had been speculation that he would return in January, but now the Kazakh star claims it could possibly be February or March by the point he’s back within the octagon. That may mark as many as 14 months out of motion.