Video WEAK: ‘We’re Talking About [Sparring] Practice, Man’

Two undefeated 170-pound standouts clash in UFC 310’s much-improved co-main event this weekend (Sat., Dec. 7, 2024) as No. 1-ranked Welterweight contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov, collides with Ian Garry in a title eliminator, which goes down inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Late last month, sparring footage between Rakhmonov vs. Garry leaked online ahead of their big fight. In the clip, the Irish fighter is seen getting the better of Rakhmonov, which caused some fans to re-think their perceptions of the meaningful matchup.

Checkout the sparring below:

“Oh sh-t? Am I wrong about Shavkat winning?” one fan wrote.

Then, yesterday (Tues., Dec. 3, 2024), Ariel Helwani asked “Nomad” about the fight week sparring video leak.

“At the time, even though his wife asked me if she could film the footage of us sparring, I accepted it,” Rakhmonov said. “But, they didn’t ask me if they can release it or not. I wonder why they didn’t release the other part of the sparring?”

When asked what the other part of sparring looked like, Rakhmonov said, “Ian Garry tapped — it was a submission, choke.”

Sparring in mixed martial arts (MMA) gyms varies from establishment to establishment. Some gyms don’t care if sparring footage is released, some have zero tolerance and some leave it up to the fighter(s).

But, ultimately, it comes back to NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson’s iconic quote, “We’re talking about practice, man.“

Practice makes champions, though, right?

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 310 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

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