Shavkat Rakhmonov is one step closer to UFC comeback with recent sparring footage
Months after a critical knee injury, Shavkat Rakhmonov is now sparring more regularly as he continues his journey back to the top of the UFC welterweight division.
Shavkat Rakhmonov is making good progress toward his eventual return to the cage. One of his coaches, Orazaly Aldibaev, recently shared sparring footage of 'The Nomad' on Instagram, where he can be seen both striking and grappling, with his mobility significantly improved.
Shavkat Rakhmonov is on his way back
Shavkat Rakhmonov hasn't set foot inside the octagon since Dec. 7, 2024 when he faced Ian Machado Garry at UFC 310. However, neither man was the other's original opponent. Instead, 'The Nomad' was set to challenge Belal Muhammad for the latter's then welterweight title. Meanwhile, Garry was scheduled to fight at UFC on ESPN 63 seven days later, where he was to face Joaquin Buckley. Both matchups collapsed when Muhammad withdrew from his title fight with Rakhmonov, citing a bone infection in his foot. The UFC then pulled Garry from his bout with Buckley and instead paired him up with Rakhmonov in a title eliminator at UFC 310, where 'The Nomad' won a hard-fought unanimous decision.
Unfortunately for him, his dreams of fighting for the welterweight title at UFC 315 were dashed after being sidelined by a knee injury. He hasn't fought since, and has been recovering from a surgery that would keep him from active training for nearly a year. Now, though, footage has emerged of Rakhmonov sparring with more confidence.
However, his years of inactivity have led to him being booted from the UFC welterweight rankings. Furthermore, the division itself has moved on from him. Muhammad was dethroned in his first title defense as welterweight champion at UFC 315, where Jack Della Maddalena defeated him via unanimous decision. However, the same happened to 'JDM' himself, with Islam Makhachev dethroning him as welterweight champion at UFC 322, also via unanimous decision. Now, the man that Rakhmonov beat to earn a title shot in the first place will face Makhachev for the welterweight title at UFC 330 next weekend. It'll be a matchup that the 19-0 phenom will be watching closely, as will many of the new crop of welterweight contenders.
