This past Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 310, a welterweight title shot was on the line. Undefeated top contenders Shavkat Rakhmonov (19-0) and Ian Machado Garry (15-1) went toe-to-toe with the winner getting a shot at welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.
Rakhmonov was supposed to fight Muhammad in the main event for the title, but Muhammad suffered an injury that took him out of the fight. Instead of doing an interim title fight, the UFC pivoted to a title eliminator featuring fellow unbeaten contender Ian Machado Garry.
Rakhmonov had a perfect finishing rate entering the bout having finished all eighteen of his previous opponents. However, he was not able to do that on Saturday night. Rakhmonov had good moments on the feet and controlled many of the clinch grappling exchanges, but he wasn’t able to dominate in his normal fashion.
At no point did it ever seem like Rakhmonov was close to finishing Garry. Instead, it was Garry who nearly finished Rakhmonov in the fifth round by taking his back and almost securing a rear-naked choke. In the end, Rakhmonov did just enough to win a 48-47 unanimous decision on all three cards at UFC 310.
Rakhmonov’s Image After UFC 310
Entering the bout, Rakhmonov had this different vibe to him. He seemed like the terminator who was going to finish every opponent that was put in front of him. However, Ian Garry made him look human. Not only did he look human, but he also looked beatable. That’s really a statement about how good Ian Garry is, but it also takes away from Rakhmonov.
Rakhmonov will now fight Belal Muhammad for the UFC welterweight title. The early odds had Rakhmonov as a big betting favorite but those odds are shrinking by the minute. Many believe that after Saturday night, he might be the underdog against Belal Muhammad who won the title by largely dominating Leon Edwards in England.
Yes, Rakhmonov is still undefeated, it feels like he lost a little star power on Saturday night. Daniel Cormier revealed that he had heard Rakhmonov tore his MCL ahead of the fight and maybe that played a factor. That said, injury or not, his stock took a slight hit despite getting the win at UFC 310.
Think about this, would Rakhmonov’s odds have shrunk in the manner that they have had he just not fought on Saturday night and they re-booked the title fight keeping his 100% finish rate? Right now, Rakhmonov is in the same position he was in just a little over a month ago, lined up to challenge Muhammad, just with a little less hype.