Following Shavkat Rakhmonov’s UFC 310 win against Ian Machado Garry this past Saturday, UFC commentator Daniel Cormier revealed that Rakhmonov went into the fight with a serious injury.
After missing out on his undisputed welterweight title shot against Belal Muhammad at UFC 310, the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov opted to stay on the card against fellow contender, Ian Machado Garry.
Fortunately for the Kazakh, he went on to pick up the unanimous decision victory after an extremely close five-round fight.
Daniel Cormier reveals Shavkat Rakhmonov went into UFC 310 fight with a torn MCL
As both fighters were looking to maintain their undefeated record, the fight didn’t play out to many people’s expectations, considering Rakhmonov’s 100% finish rate.
However, following the fight, the reason for Shavkat’s uncharacteristic performance was revealed by UFC commentator, Daniel Cormier.
During his Octagon interview, the 30-year-old admitted that during his year layoff since fighting Stephen Thompson, he has had some problems to deal with.
“I learned after, that (Shavkat) fought with an injury. I think he tore his MCL going into that fight. With a torn ligament in your knee, you’re not going to look like the killer that you looked like in fights prior,” Cormier revealed in a video on his YouTube channel.
Following Cormier’s revelation, Rakhmonov’s performance begins to make more sense as he didn’t look as dangerous as he has looked previously.
Despite that, fellow UFC legend, Chael Sonnen has put that down to Ian Garry’s solid performance, and he has backed the Irishman, claiming that he ‘won in many categories’.
- TROLL RESPONSE: Belal Muhammad responds to Conor McGregor and Joe Rogan claiming that security didn’t know he was the champion at UFC 310
Chael Sonnen believes Muhammad vs Rakhmonov could be delayed despite face-off
The champion’s withdrawal from the UFC 310 main event came after he suffered a broken toe during his training camp, which subsequently turned into a terrible bone infection.
Muhammad recently claimed that he considered amputating his toe after the infection grew worse, just so he could stay on the card.
With that, Sonnen believes the title fight between Muhammad and Rakhmonov could be delayed, with the extent of Muhammad’s injury being downplayed. As well as that, it is unclear whether Rakhmonov will require surgery following Cormier’s revelation.
“Belal has a life-threatening infection in his leg. Belal should not have been in there on (Saturday night). Belal is too tough and too brave to tell you guys that but that’s what he’s dealing with… He can’t do 50 pushups right now,” Sonnen said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“That fight is likely going to be delayed and we’ll see if we even get to that fight,” he continued.
Despite Shavkat’s injury concern, in his UFC 310 post-fight press conference, he admitted that he hopes to fight Muhammad in the first quarter of 2025, with it unclear whether he will get surgery on his injured knee.
- DISPUTES: ‘He won by opinion’… Ian Machado Garry disputes his UFC 310 decision loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov