Shavkat Rakhmonov knows exactly what he’s getting into when he fights Ian Machado Garry this weekend.
On Saturday, Rakhmonov faces off with Garry in a five-round fight in the co-main event of UFC 310. Rakhmonov was supposed to challenge Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title, but when Muhammad withdrew due to injury, Rakhmonov stayed on the card and now puts his spot as the next title challenger on the line. But while there’s risk involved, Rakhmonov is just happy he’s still getting to compete.
“I’m very glad,” Rakhmonov told Ariel Helwani when asked about the opponent change. “A lot of fighters turned it down, and he backed up his word, so I’m glad I’m fighting.
“As far as I know, Kamaru Usman turned it down and also pretty much everyone from top-15 didn’t accept the fight. That’s why they pulled Ian Garry in. …
“I could have fought for the title,” Rakhmonov added later. “I could have just waited for the title fight, but I wanted to fight. I wanted to stay active and I wanted to strengthen my position as the No. 1 contender.”
Considering he’s a short-notice replacement, Garry is a pretty good opponent for Rakhmonov. Both men are undefeated and have been steadily rising up the UFC welterweight rankings, with Garry holding the No. 7 spot right now. And on top of that, Rakhmonov has some familiarity with Garry already.
The two previously trained together for a short stint and in advance of the matchup, Garry even released some footage of their sparring sessions; however, Rakhmonov says Garry was selective in the sparring footage he chose to share.
“At the time, even though his wife asked me if she can 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.
“Ian Garry taps, “ Rakhmonov added when asked what happened. “It was a submission, choke.”
But just because he already beat Garry in training, doesn’t mean Rakhmonov believes this fight will be easy. And with so much at stake for him on Saturday, Rakhmonov says he’s keeping the most important thing in focus.
“What’s most important for me is the win,” Rakhmonov said. “Sparring is sparring, fighting is different. Ian Garry is a very tough opponent who is a good tactician, who comes in with a good game plan. So for me it doesn’t matter, submission or stoppage. For me what’s most important is to win.”
UFC 310 takes place this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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