In a No. 1 contender's bout at welterweight between two unbeaten opponents, there turned out to be very little separating Shavkat Rakhmonov from Ian Machado Garry on Saturday at UFC 310.
In the end, Rakhmonov (19-0) relied on his grappling and pinpoint striking but was unable to extend his career-long finishing streak as he went the distance for the first time in a technical and thrilling unanimous decision win over five rounds inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Even though Rakhmonov, the 30-year-old native of Kazakhstan, took home scores of 48-47 on all three judges' scorecards to secure the next shot at 170-pound champion Belal Muhammad's title, the story of the fight turned out to be just how elite Machado Garry (15-1) turned out to be.
Machado Garry, a 27-year-old native of Ireland who took the fight on short notice after Muhammad pulled out of the originally scheduled title defense in the main event against Rakhmonov, showcased elite takedown defense and head movement as he made his dangerous opponent work for every tiny advantage. Machado Garry also rallied to twice threaten a choke on Rakhmonov in Round 5.
"Ian Garry is a great guy, great opponent and it showed that in the fight," Rakhmonov said. "I had a long, one-year layoff and problems to deal with but I'm glad I won."
The first two rounds featured plenty of feinting and pawing between both fighters and tremendous defense in the clinch from Machado Garry along the cage to avoid being taken down. Rakhmonov, however, landed the singular biggest strike late to steal both of the rounds.
But after Machado Garry relied on defense and leg kicks to steal a very close Round 3, Rakhmonov finally succeeded in taking Machado Garry down in Round 4 and won the round thanks to a variety of ground-and-pound strikes.
In the final round, Machado Garry reversed a takedown attempt from Rakhmonov and took his back with a body triangle. A pair of choke attempts briefly had Rakhmonov in serious danger. Machado Garry later added a pair of right hands in the closing seconds but could not produce enough drama to take the decision.
UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad faced off with Shavkat Rakhmonov in the Octagon after Rakhmonov's win at #UFC310 👀 pic.twitter.com/cLJVygbBZD
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 8, 2024
After the fight, Rakhmonov welcomed Muhammad, who was sitting cageside, into the Octagon for a face off.
"I'm excited for it," Muhammad said. "I see the crowd booing but those boos are going to turn to tears real soon. It's another victim I see that I'm going to break and another 0 that I'm going to take."
"Get ready, no more injuries and we will find out who is the better man," Rakhmonov replied.
