Shavkat Rakhmonov doesn’t consider that he ought to’ve taken a conflict with Ian Machado Garry again in late 2024.
Rakhmonov and Garry collided within the UFC 310 co-main occasion. The aggressive welterweight conflict went all 5 rounds, and Rakhmonov was awarded the unanimous determination. Sadly for the undefeated Kazakh star, he was compelled to overlook all of 2025, and he gained’t be returning this 12 months resulting from harm setbacks.
Garry has since taken credit score for damaging Rakhmonov’s knee, however which will haven’t been the case. Talking to Alfredo Auditore for ALF World, Rakhmonov revealed {that a} prior harm was really what bothered him in the course of the struggle with Garry.
“I already had an harm going into the Ian Garry struggle,” Rakhmonov mentioned. “I stepped in, I hadn’t fought for a 12 months. I needed to struggle. Even earlier than that, I had well being issues too, and it turned out that there have been solely two weeks left earlier than the Ian Garry struggle. That outdated harm was nonetheless bothering me quite a bit. My leg was swollen.”
Rakhmonov then mentioned he doesn’t really feel he ought to’ve taken the struggle with Garry having been as harm as he was. Finally, Rakhmonov pushed by it, however it might have come at a value.
“Effectively, that’s my drawback,” Rakhmonov admitted. “I couldn’t struggle. If I had fought, I may’ve turn out to be champion, however that’s the way it turned out. I used to be injured. What can I do? We’re solely human, and we’re sure to make loads of errors. In the event you actually take a look at it, I additionally made all kinds of errors all through my sports activities profession. I really shouldn’t have even fought Ian Machado Garry in any respect.”
Many are questioning if Rakhmonov can ever attain his full potential amid his harm historical past. Comparisons to UFC Corridor of Famer Dominick Cruz have been made. Regardless of a litany of accidents, Cruz was capable of overcome lengthy layoffs to turn out to be a two-time UFC bantamweight titleholder.
What do you make of Shavkat Rakhmonov’s perception that taking the Ian Machado Garry struggle was a mistake? Let your voice be heard within the feedback under.
This text appeared first on BJPENN.COM
