Shavkat Rakhmonov is eager to remind everyone just how good he really is.
It’s been an eventful 12 months in the UFC welterweight division, with the title changing hands twice and a wave of new contenders emerging. While Islam Makhachev will end 2025 in the hot seat, fighters like Ian Machado Garry, Michael Morales, and Carlos Prates are all snapping at the heels of the new 170-pound champion.
One man who cannot be ignored in the welterweight title discussion, however, is Rakhmonov (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who spent the year on the sidelines recovering from an injury.
"It wasn't an easy year – a lot of challenges, a lot of problems – but thank God everything is getting well," Rakhmonov told Ariel Helwani via an interpreter. "I'm already in training getting back in shape and just looking how this situation will play out in our division to see what's next for me."
Rakhmonov last competed at UFC 310 nearly a year ago, where he went to the judges’ scorecards for the first time in his career and earned a unanimous decision win over Machado Garry.
There had been speculation that Rakhmonov’s knee issues were a direct result of Machado Garry’s devastating leg kicks, but the Kazakh star insists that wasn’t the case.
"I actually injured myself before the fight against Ian Garry because I had to prepare for such a long time and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to fight," Rakhmonov said. "That's why I fought and took a risk. The injury didn't get worse in the fight. It was the same scale before and after the fight.
“First, I wanted to avoid the surgery and give rest to the injury and rehab, but it wasn't enough, so I had to do surgery still. I've been out for a while. Soon it's going to be a year. But right now, I feel good, and I feel healthy, and I believe I'll be ready to fight at the end of February or March. We'll see."
