The fall of the welterweight title scrap at UFC 310 due to Belal Muhammad‘s injury created a vacant stop. It has now left top-ranked fighter Shavkat Rakhmonov in need of a replacement opponent. This forced UFC’s hand to probe for potential options to retain their star on the card. Incidentally, news of former UFC champion Kamaru Usman taking up the fight made rounds on the internet. Unfortunately, the fight didn’t come together.
This opened doors for number 7th-ranked contender Ian Garry, who agreed to step up on short notice. Originally, Garry was booked to headline the UFC Tampa card against Joaquin Buckley. Interestingly, he was quickly pulled from it to save UFC 310’s marquee welterweight clash. Opening up about the tedious negotiations, Rakhmonov shed light on UFC’s offered opponents.
I wanted to fight Kamaru Usman, but he didn’t accept the fight. But also they offered Parates, but he was injured. And Colby Covington, he rejected the fight…Honestly; I don’t know, in the beginning he (Usman) accepted the fight, but then rejected.
Shavkat Rakhomonov via Exclusive Interview for Submission Radio
‘Nomad’ praised his former teammate Garry for stepping up to the challenge. In the UFC countdown episode, Garry picked out a comment made by Shavkat, praising him to be the next champion. Reacting to the story, the Kazakh retorted by stating that he didn’t recall making such a statement. Both contenders are walking into UFC 310 in a one-of-a-kind, undefeated vs. undefeated matchup in a title eliminator.
With the next title shot at stake, Garry believes he can decode the puzzle of ‘Nomad’ in his next outing. Not just that, Garry even took a dig at his arch-nemesis, Colby Covington, for booking his fight just a week apart. He leveled ducking accusations against the former title challenger and hoped to hijack the UFC Tampa card just to fight him. Shavkat previewed his fight with Garry and offered his prediction.
Shavkat Rakhmonov proclaims he can dig out Ian Garry’s weakness at UFC 310
Rakhmonov is ranked 3rd in the welterweight division and is a clear favorite to win. The Kazakh fighter has enjoyed training sessions with his foe in the past, revealing his key tendencies to him. Taking note of his experiences, ‘Nomad’ revealed his thoughts about the upcoming matchup.
Shavkat Rakhmonov aims to expose Ian Garry’s weakness at UFC 310 (Image via Open Source)Coincidentally, the two contenders have enjoyed an unbeaten run in UFC while taking on similar opponents in Neil Magny and Geoff Neal. While Garry took them to the judges scorecard, Rakhmonov managed to finish both men via submission. Furthermore, in his last outing, he became the first fighter to submit Stephen Thompson.
Of course, he is a good striker, very well on the feet. Working as a counter attacker, but we will see in the fight, he is weak in places. We will find out how to win him.
Shavkat Rakhmonov via Exclusive interview for Submission Radio
Garry hasn’t faced a grappling expert quite the caliber of Rakhmonov in the UFC yet. The grappling discrepancy can play a huge role in this matchup, which favors the Kazakh fighter. Taking note of Nomad’s inexperience with long-winded fights, Garry seems to have postulated a plan to drown his foe in the championship rounds.
