Rakhmonova's chances in the UFC championship fight have been "taken away."

UFC fighter Sean Brady expressed his thoughts on the matchup between Kazakhstan's Shavkat Rakhmonov (19-0) and Ireland's Ian Garry (15-1), according to Vesti.kz.

https://vesti.kz/ufc/rahmonova-lishili-shansov-v-boyu-za-titul-chempiona-ufc-355978/2024-12-20 08:12:31

The fighter shared his thoughts on the matchup between the Kazakh (19-0) and the Irishman (15-1), as reported by .

UFC Sean Brady Shavkat Rakhmonov Ian Garry Vesti.kz

During the tournament, he won by unanimous decision in a five-round fight.

Rakhmonov secured a convincing victory over Garry

"I thought Shavkat would steamroll Ian—take him down and finish him quickly. But Ian did a great job; he even managed to take Rakhmonov's back and almost win. Garry lost the fight, but his stock has definitely risen.

I heard that Garry doesn’t plan to return until summer; he wants to take a break. He deserves it. Thanks to him, people will view the fight between Belal and Shavkat differently. I think Muhammad has a good chance of beating Rakhmonov. Belal will do to him what he did to Leon Edwards," Brady said in an interview with Ariel Helwani.

It’s worth noting that Rakhmonov's original opponent was supposed to be the reigning UFC champion (24-3), but he contracted a leg infection and had to withdraw from the fight.

Belal Muhammad

As a result, Rakhmonov achieved his 19th victory in MMA and climbed to the second spot in the UFC welterweight rankings.