In the co-main event of UFC 310, Shavkat Rakhmonov remained undefeated as he became the first man to defeat Ian Machado Garry in a welterweight title eliminator. The five-round contest was also the first time that “Nomad” has been to the scorecards in his pro career.
Coming into December 7 off of a six-fight win streak inside the Octagon, Rakhmonov has earned five submissions and one knockout during his time in the promotion. Despite him still winning three of the five rounds on all three scorecards, Garry was able to keep himself out of danger for the majority of the 25-minutes to make it competitive.
The Irishman may not have come away with the win but in his toughest fight to date on short notice, he proved that he belongs at the elite level and to some, he showed that the boogeyman of the division isn’t unbeatable. In his post-fight press conference, Rakhmonov said that though he’s disappointed to have not got the finish for the first time, he gave credit to his opponent for this.
“Who doesn’t want to finish fights? I did everything in my power to do so, but Ian had a great preparation, but I believe next fight I will continue my finishing streak.”
Rakhmonov also agreed with Garry’s sentiment that this won’t be the last time that the two former training partners at Kill Cliff FC will meet inside the Octagon. For now, they will go their separate ways as the 19-0 contender moves on to his title fight with Belal Muhammad which was set to take place this past weekend until the champion withdrew several weeks ago.
“We’re going to keep winning and if he keeps winning, we’re going to meet again.”