Shavkat Rakhmonov makes a mockery of Ian Garry's octagon finish-rate after Irishman's callout: "It won't even be close if it happens"
Shavkat Rakhmonov has scoffed at Ian Garry's call for a matchup between the pair, insisting that the bout, if it indeed happens, will be one-sided. 'The Nomad' took to X/Twitter to share his thoughts on the matter, even poking fun at Garry's paltry finishing rate compared to his own.
The light war of words comes in response to Garry openly questioning whose undefeated record will fall should the two cross swords? Rakhmonov, however, believes that the answer is as clear as day, and Garry has no future in the UFC welterweight title scene.
"100% finish rate VS 53% finish rate. It won't even be close if it happens."
Statistically, there is no arguing against Rakhmonov's statement, even if only part of it. The Kazakh phenom is unbeaten in 18 professional MMA fights, having finished every single foe who has dared step inside the octagon with him. He most recently submitted striker extraordinaire Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson.
In doing so, he became only the second fighter to ever finish 'Wonderboy,' and the first to submit him. Meanwhile, Garry has struggled to return to his finishing ways ever since TKO'ing the unranked Daniel Rodriguez, who is now 0-3 in his last three fights and coming off a loss when he faced Garry.
Garry has thereafter won his subsequent three fights via underwhelming decision. Thus, at least from the outcome of their bouts, 'The Nomad' appears to be a step ahead of 'The Future,' with many predicting a more one-sided affair than Garry foresees.
Shavkat Rakhmonov allegedly got the better of Ian Garry in a sparring session
It is an unspoken rule among fighters to not divulge the content of sparring sessions. However, there has been a longstanding rumor, propagated by the likes of Brendan Allen, who didn't outright name Shavkat Rakhmonov, but implied that 'The Nomad' knocked Ian Garry out in a past sparring session at Kill Cliff FC.
Further fuel was added to the fire after MMA refereeing legend John McCarthy and former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson both implied that 'The Nomad' was indeed the one who knocked Garry out during a sparring session.