Chael Sonnen speculates how Shavkat Rakhmonov could have caused Ian Garry to leave Kill Cliff FC: “In this room, you are number 5”
Chael Sonnen explored the reasons why Ian Garry may have parted ways with Kill Cliff FC. Garry left the Deerfield Beach gym in 2023 to join Diego Lima-led Chute Boxe Academy. He is set to fight his former teammate from Kill Cliff FC, Shavkat Rakhmonov, in the welterweight title eliminator bout at UFC 310 on Dec. 7.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Sonnen pondered over the reasons that could have led Garry to change his path:
"At 24 years old, completely undefeated... You're the one controlling the headlines. But, in this room, you're number five - just within the weight class! There's five guys in this practice room, in this weight class, that can beat you and do it on a daily basis."
Putting himself in the shoes of other fighters at the Kill Cliff, Sonnen questioned:
"'But the promoter wants to see you for some reason. You're placementon the card is higher than our placement. The amount of headlines you garner, your social media and your followers, and the people that believe you are the man. When the four of us know you're not!' And just by example, is that why Ian [Garry] left?"
Check out Chael Sonnen's comments below (3:45):
Chael Sonnen thinks MMA community is missing a critical storyline about Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Garry
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Garry is one of the first major fights between rising young contenders. Both men have put their undefeated professional MMA records on the line in a non-title, five-round fight and Chael Sonnen thinks it is an essential storyline heading into the fight.
Drawing attention to the fact that Rakhmonov and Garry agreed to the high-risk bout without intense negotiations, Sonnen said:
"We, right now, can't get our heavyweight champion to fight our interim heavyweight champion. This is happening right now. But we've got two undefeated guys that used to train together, that know the likely outcome, who haven't said a word about those workouts. They've agreed to do it for 70 percent more time [five rounds] and didn't need any carrot dangled in front of them. And that's the storyline!" [8:45]
Rakhmonov vs. Garry will serve as the UFC 310 co-main event. At the time of this writing, Rakhmonov is a -340 betting favorite while Garry is a +265 underdog.