
Ian
Garry believes he is responsible for Shavkat
Rakhmonov prolonged injury.
Rakhmonov hasn’t fought since a unanimous decision win over Garry
in December 2024. The matchup was billed as a title eliminator with
the winner expected to fight then-champion Belal
Muhammad. However, Rakhmonov was sidelined due to a knee
injury. The welterweight title has changed hands twice since while
Rakhmonov is yet to recover.
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Rakhmonov was recently revealed wearing a knee brace and carrying
crutches. Rakhmonov’s manager subsequently revealed that “Nomad”
recently underwent surgery again after re-injuring his knee. The
undefeated Kazakh is expected to take another 10 months to recover.
Rakhmonov has also been dropped from the official
UFC welterweight rankings, with Garry taking his No. 2
spot.
Lasting Effects?
Garry recently took credit for sidelining Rakhmonov at the prime of
his career. Garry re-shared a slow motion video of him bending
Rakhmonov’s knee with an oblique kick during their fight. The
caption read: “Ian destroyed Shavkat’s career.”
Garry also wrote in a tweet: “He was eliminated at our title
eliminator.”
He was eliminated at our title eliminator
https://t.co/B2zbSbp9f1— “The Future” Ian Machado
Garry (@iangarryMMA)
February 3, 2026
Garry (17-1) suffered his only professional loss against Rakhmonov
(19-0), who went the distance for the first time in his career
against “The Future.” Garry has since rebounded with wins over
Carlos
Prates and Belal
Muhammad.
Ian Garry
reposted a video claiming he “destroyed Shavkat’s career” 😬
pic.twitter.com/aQZGXmqbsY— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS)
February 3, 2026