Shavkat Rakhmonov was originally set to fight for the undisputed welterweight title against Belal Muhammad, but due to a toe injury and a bone infection, Muhammad had to pull out of the fight.
That’s when Ian Machado Garry stepped up and offered to fight Shavkat for the number one contender spot. The two former training partners faced off for the chance to move closer to a title shot.
#UFC310 Official Scorecard: Shavkat Rakhmonov (@Rakhmonov1994) vs Ian Machado Garry
Complete Scorecards ➡️ https://t.co/5Vl49j9ixS pic.twitter.com/i6fs80ycBV
— UFC News (@UFCNews) December 8, 2024
Dana White Reacts to the Intense Fight Between Ian Machado Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov
Before the fight, everyone was really excited to see Ian Machado Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov face off, even though they were respectful to each other at first.
Rakhmonov mentioned that he used to submit Garry during training at Kill Cliff, and Garry admitted it was true.
But when they had their face-off at the weigh-ins, things got a little heated! Garry boldly said he would finish Rakhmonov in the fight.
The fight turned out the way many fans expected. Rakhmonov showed his strong grappling skills, even though Garry had been training hard with fighters like Charles Oliveira in Brazil.
Even though Shavkat Rakhmonov tried really hard to take Ian Machado Garry down, Garry showed everyone how strong he was at stopping the takedowns. Rakhmonov only got two out of ten takedowns. There was even a moment when Garry almost won by putting Rakhmonov in a tight choke from behind. Everyone was really impressed with Garry’s skills.
Shavkat Rakhmonov won the fight with a close 48-47 score from all three judges. Dana White, the UFC boss, said that sometimes fights don’t go as expected, but because this fight was so important, he wasn’t really surprised by the outcome.
“15-0 and 18-0, what that means is you have two really great fighters with a lot at stake, there’s a title (shot) on the line and you saw a lot of great things from both guys during that fight,” White said at the post fight press conference.
Dana White reacts to Shavkat Rakhmonov’s win over Ian Machado Garry at #UFC310:
“You saw a lot of great things from both guys. … Thank god it was five rounds.” pic.twitter.com/H5l4qGFtoK
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) December 8, 2024
Ian Machado Garry Disputes Decision in Close Fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov
Dana White said both fighters did a good job and he was happy with how they performed, but Ian Machado Garry didn’t agree so much. After his first loss, Garry said he didn’t think he lost the fight and wondered why the judges scored it that way.
“I’m humble in victory and in defeat and always have been, and I do not feel like I lost today, my hand might not have been raised but I came out and I fought a giant, I came out and I fought the boogeyman and I showed that he’s f*cking human,” Garry said in his post fight press conference.
“I went out there on three weeks notice and I saved this event, I saved this card against the scariest man in the division and I went out there and I stopped almost everything… I showed that I can hang with the single best in the division and I proved tonight that I can absolutely be a champion.
“He won by opinion, and that’s ok, I can live with that and I’m very happy with my performance tonight,” the Irishman continued.
Ian Machado Garry gave his immediate reaction to his #UFC310 fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov
“I showed he’s human. … I will be a champion one day.” pic.twitter.com/EDHsWuD0Oa
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) December 8, 2024
🤝🤔 “HE WON BY OPINION AND I’M OK WITH THAT, I CAN LIVE WITH THAT AND I’M VERY HAPPY WITH MY PERFORMANCE”
Ian Garry reflects on his performance against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310#UFC310 pic.twitter.com/t0tOBC1hy8
— FULL SEND MMA (@full_send_mma) December 8, 2024
The fight between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov also had some controversy because the judges didn’t all agree on the scores. This led Dana White to talk with the commissioners about it.
