Ultimate Fighting Championship career is over, but the undefeated middleweight admits his comeback is far from guaranteed.
Rahmonov has been sidelined since the defeat Ian Garry in December 2024. He entered this match with a knee injury and it left a lasting impact. In a new interview, he reflected on the fight and where he stands in the 170-pound division.
Shavkat Rakhmonov describes the knee injury that has sidelined him after beating Ian Garry
“Nomad” admits that he should not have competed with the injury. He also took a picture of Dagestan stars Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachovclaiming they would never fight injured.
“Well, that’s my problem; I couldn’t fight,” Rahmonov told Alf Global. “If I had fought, I could have become champion, but this is how it turned out. I got injured. What to do? We’re only human. Actually, I shouldn’t have even fought Ian Garry at all. I should not have had to contend with such injuries at all; I just took a risk. This is the Kazakh way. Kazakhs are very brave. They are not afraid. If it had been another Dagestan fighter like Khabib or Islam Makhachov, they would have definitely refused.
Rahmonov then delved deeper into how his injury worsened during the Garry fight.
“I already had an injury in the Ian Garry fight,” he added. “I walked in; I hadn’t fought in a year; I wanted to fight. That old injury was still bothering me. My leg was swollen. And when he hit me, it was probably because I was completely out of touch. I didn’t feel the kick at all.”
