Shavkat Rakhmonov Confident of Beating Ian Machado Garry in Future Clash

The undefeated UFC welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov was one inch away from showcasing his skills as a title challenger. Belal Muhammad’s unexpected staph infection/toe injury pushed him to announce withdrawal from his title defense against Rakhmonov on 10th December at UFC 310 – leaving the Kazakhstani fighter with no opponent. Instead of expressing grief and frustration, Shavkat wished Belal a speedy recovery. In the meantime, a lot of noise was created in the MMA community to see Ian Machado Garry vs Shavkat Rakhmonov. 

Interestingly, Rakhmonov was ready to entertain that fight and is strongly confident of beating Machado Garry if they ever locked horns – his confidence stems from previous training sessions. Unfortunately, that fight won’t take place because the UFC recently announced Ian Machado Garry vs Joaquin Buckley for UFC Tampa (14th December.) 

Shavkat Rakhmonov on facing Ian Machado Garry 

Recently on the Ariel Helwani Show, Shavkat explained how he’s confident of beating Ian Machado Garry in a future matchup. 

“To be honest, I don’t care,” Rakhmonov said, as quoted by mmajunkie.usatoday.com. “I’m ready if it’s going to be him after he wins his next fight. If it is, it could be good for both of us. We can do it. If he wants to try and take my zero, he can try, but I know the same thing is going to happen that’s happened in the training. 

I’m going to just keep it the same way, and I’m pretty confident that I’m going to beat him. You know, it’s just training. I don’t want to praise myself too much. It’s just training, but I feel comfortable with how the training went. Whether it was striking or the ground, I felt comfortable and in control. So, I’m pretty confident in this matchup”.