Is Shavkat back?
In the last few years the UFC’s welterweight division has matured into one of the deepest, and most dangerous, shark tanks in the promotion. The rise of killer contenders for Islam Makhachev’s crown has developed during a time when possibly best among those rising stars has been sitting on the sideline.
Back when the Welterweight belt was around the waists of Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad there was a sense that those figures were just keeping it warm while Shavkat Rakhmonov worked
his way to a title fight . The Kazakh earned one in 2024 after he beat Ian Machado Garry (on a badly injured knee) to increase his stellar record to 19-0.
Since then, though, it’s been a tough road to travel for ‘Nomad’.
The knee injury Rakhamonov either carried into or suffered in the Machado Garry fight would require surgery. Unfortunately for him (and us fans and writers alike) Rakhmonov re-injured his knee during his rehab.
There was a glimmer of hope in May, though, when Rakhmonov announced he had finally returned to training. Then, in August, it was revealed that Rakhmonov was now sparring.
Yesterday, Rakhmonov gave us the clearest indication that his return was imminent. He posted on TikTok, of all places, the simple message: “19-0 vs. 19-0”.
This can only be referencing a potential match-up between Rakhmonov and the only other man who is 19-0 in the division — Michael Morales. Whether this is news of an impending fight announcement or merely an attempt to manifest such a match-up, we don’t know.
If this is a hint of what the UFC has planned, though, then that would be pretty exciting. The triumvirate of Rakhmonov, Morales and Carlos Prates feel like the best bets to test, or even possibly beat, the incumbent pound-for-pound king Makhachev.
This quasi-announcement might also suggest that Prates has already done enough to get his shot at the gold.
The 27 year-old Morales got his 19th winby sonning Sean Bradyat UFC 322 last November. That first round TKO was his third in a row following wins over Gilbert Burns and Neil Magny.
For now, let’s all keep our fingers crossed that Rakhmonov makes it through camp and returns to action sooner rather than later.
