Subsequent to beating Neil Magny in a prevailing fashion at the UFC on ESPN: Tsarukyan vs Gamrot event, Shavkat Rakhmonov’s hype has raised the roof. The 27-year-old Kazakh has an undefeated record of 16 wins and 0 losses. Yet, the most important thing about this guy is his spectacular finishing abilities. From 15 bouts, Shavkat has 8 submissions and 8 knockouts. Rakhmonov Made his debut in 2020 and from that point forward, has secured 4 back to back wins. Many Analysts view him as one of the most talented prospects in the welterweight division. Even though Rakhmonov hasn’t yet been tested by a top opposition, his skills speak for themselves. Shavkat is good both on the ground and on the feet, with an outstanding killer instinct. Will he be the one to challenge the throne of the welterweight king Kamaru Usman? Well, that’s definitely a possibility. In the following article, we’re going to discuss Shavkat’s career start and how he evolved as a fighter.
Youth years and career start in MMA
Shavkat was born in Uzbekistan in 1994 but later received citizenship of Kazakhstan. Rakhmonov started his MMA journey in 2014 in the Russian organization M-1 Challenge and strangled his opponent Adam Tsurov with a triangle choke. While M-1 would be Rakhmanov’s main organization, he also used to fight in the local promotions of Kazakhstan. Rakhmanov rapidly evolved and won the belt of KZMMAF as well as the M-1 belt. After defending his belts a few times, Rakhmanov made a decision to leave and fight for the more high-level organizations. For the fans who want to make some profit by watching UFC fights, check out 22Bet Nigeria.
Debut in the UFC
Shavkat was booked to make his debut in early 2020, but because of CoronaVirus problems, the fight was rescheduled. In July 2020, Rakhmanov was yet again booked but was forced to pull out this time because of an injury. Rakhmonov finally made his debut in October 2020, facing the UFC veteran Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira. Oliveira was not a ranked opponent, but he had almost a decade-long MMA experience. Alex couldn’t make the weight and the bout took place at catchweight. Rakhmonov made the fight look easy as he submitted his rival via guillotine choke in the opening round. In June 2021, Rakhmonov faced another Brazilian Michel Prazeres. Prazeres was a decent Jiu-Jitsu artist, so many were anticipating that Kazakh would avoid going to the ground at all costs and keep the fight standing. This was partially true, as Rakhmonov stocked all takedown attempts from the Brazilian and proceeded to show the striking clinic. But the finish was truly mesmerizing as Rakhmonov managed to take Prazeres’s back and choke him out with a rear-naked choke in the second round. In 2022 Rakhmonov won 2 fights and received 2 performances of the night bonuses. His first opponent Carlston Harris was knocked out by a spinning kick and punches. The second one was Neil Magny and some experts saw this fight as the first test for Rakhmanov’s skills, as Neil Magny was a very skilled and experienced veteran. Nevertheless, this bout was anything but a test. Rakhmanov dominated Magny both in striking and grappling, finishing him with a guillotine at the end of the second round.
Possible future opponents
After the fight, Rakhmanov named 3 opponents he was willing to face: Stephen Thompson, Nick Diaz, and Jorge Masvidal. All three are veterans on losing streaks, so Rakhmonov definitely doesn’t want to rush and call out top fighters. This might be the right choice, because fighting guys like Masvidal and Stephen Thompson definitely makes him more popular. Rakhmanov is still young and evolving as a fighter, so it’s certainly better for him to develop step by step and not force the action.