Shavkat Rakhmonov was willing to face two different former world champions after losing out on a fight for the belt this Saturday.
The terrifying Kazakh fighter is undefeated at 18-0, and at the best of times struggles to get matched in the UFC. But when Belal Muhammad was forced out of their planned world title fight at UFC 310, he was offered a number of massive names.
However, when it came to getting them to agree, the promotion couldn’t find anyone willing to take the fight on such late notice. Now, Rakhmonov must face his former teammate Ian Machado Garry in a number one contender bout.
Shavkat Rakhmonov names the former champions who turned down a fight with him
There were three options presented to Shavkat Rakhmonov before he ended up being forced to take on Garry this weekend. He notes that two were former world champions, while another top prospect was also on the list.
“I wanted to fight Kamaru Usman. But he didn’t accept the fight,” Rakhmonov told Submission Radio. “Also, they offered to Carlos Prates, but he was injured. And Colby Covington, he rejected the fight. And I’m happy that Ian Garry accepted the fight because it will be a great fight.”
Asked why he feels Usman turned it down, Rakhmonov replied: “I don’t know. In the beginning he accepted the fight, and then he rejected. Maybe he didn’t want to risk, of course, he doesn’t want to lose.”
Ian Machado Garry tears into Kamaru Usman for turning down UFC 310 fight
During an explosive appearance last night on the Ariel Helwani Show, Ian Machado Garry explained that he feels Usman was too afraid to take the fight. He believes that while the former champion is a great fighter, he is now not willing to risk another loss on his record.
“So, I had many conversations back-to-back with UFC,” Garry explained. “Initially, the goal was to line up a fight with Colby Covington, again, it’s no secret he’s been running.Then they went down the line and started to look at Kamaru Usman.
“The words I heard from UFC were: ‘Kamaru Usman wants nothing to do with you,’ meaning he’s also running. Usman has a big chest and little balls; he looks good, he’s got a big chest and plays the part, but where it matters between the legs, he’s a little man. That’s my outlook on it.”
Garry reckons that Usman and Covington are both now looking for matchups that better suit their styles, adding: “Him and Colby, they’re older, they’ve been through the division and fought guys. Now, they’re getting to the end of their careers and want to choose the better stylistic matchup.
“I guarantee this. Usman is going to try and push for a fight with Jack Della Maddalena because he saw how easy it was for Gilbert Burns to take him down.
” If I were in Usman’s shoes, why would I want to fight the guy who is long, rangey, and difficult to deal with? When I could fight the guy who I watched two people back-to-back be able to take him down quite easily.”
Kamaru Usman hits back at claims he is afraid of Shavkat Rakhmonov
Garry’s criticisms echo the sentiments of some fans and other fighters, albeit worded slightly differently. But Usman really believes that such a critique is nonsensical, noting that he has always fought the best in the world, and is himself considered an all-time great at 170lb.
“This is a fight that I was potentially going to slide into,” Usman said during a recent episode of his podcast Pound for Pound with Henry Cejudo. “I’ve touched on this a million times, which is crazy to me because I’m seeing online people.
“They’re like, ‘Aw, you scared? You ducking? You ducking? You scared? You scared?’ What? “I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ This is the same sentiment that I feel like people are doing to Jon Jones. It’s just like when people, where you’re fans or fans of a fighter don’t get their desired wish that they want.
“They say ‘That’s the fight I want,’ then it’s like, ‘That guy must be scared because he didn’t take the fight.’ Like, guys, shut up. Shut up. We step in there each and every time – I have 22 or 25 fights, I don’t know how many fights.
“But you think everyone, ‘Oh, you scared.’ World champion and defending belts time and time again, ‘Oh, he’s scared.’ Shut up. Just because you didn’t get what you wanted. Guess what, it’s like your mom telling you, ‘No, you can’t have that toy today.’ So shut your mouth.”
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