Ian Machado Garry has taken the credit for destroying Shavkat Rakhmonov’s knee and taken back-to-back digs at the undefeated Kazakh fighter, who took away his spotless MMA record.
Rakhmonov, who was sidelined due to a meniscus injury and a partial ACL tear, did not enter the octagon in 2025. His last fight was at UFC 310 against Garry, which ‘Nomad’ won by unanimous decision.
In 2026, Rakhmonov was expected to enter the ocagon in April-May. However, as per recent reports, his comeback will be delayed further as he has reinjured the same knee that kept him out of action for over a year. He is expected to be out another 9-10 months. Recently, the 31-year-old was also spotted walking with crutches and a knee brace.
Due to inactivity and no return timeline in sight, the UFC has decided to remove Rakhmonov from the welterweight rankings. ‘Nomad’ was the No. 2-ranked 170-pounder, but now Garry has taken that spot after ‘Nomad’ was taken off the chart.
Ian Machado Garry says he “destroyed” Shavkat Rakhmonov’s UFC career
After the latest ranking update, ‘The Future’ took to X to fire a jab at Shavkat Rakhmonov. The Irishman posted:
He was eliminated at our title eliminator.”
Next, Ian Machado Garry also uploaded another video of him landing a sharp oblique kick on Rakhmonov’s knee in the UFC 310 bout and captioned it:
Ian destroyed Shavkat’s career”
Rakhmonov has, however, previously clarified that he faced Ian Machado Garry with a torn MCL in his knee and yet got past the Irishman.
With Shavkat Rakhmonov removed from the rankings, Ian Machado Garry is now closer than ever to a title shot, which means he could be next in line to face champion Islam Makhachev when the latter returns to make the first defense of his 170-pound title post-Ramadan.
Although Garry lost to Rakhmonov at UFC 310, he bounced back in 2025 by securing a short-notice win against Carlos Prates and then beating former champion Belal Muhammad at UFC Qatar, to end the year on a high note.
The short-notice risk-taker has definitely impressed the UFC brass, putting him firmly in line for a championship opportunity.
