Shavkat Rakhmonov’s ongoing injuries are so bad that his fellow welterweight contender has predicted that he won’t fight again.
The 19-0 undefeated contender hasn’t fought since 2024 when he handed Ian Machado Garry his first ever loss at UFC 310.
Since then, ‘The Nomad’ has been sidelined with persistent knee issues which were caused by the Irishman’s controversial kicks.
And after two years out of action, there is still no indication of when the 31-year-old will return to the Octagon to continue his career.
Sean Brady doesn’t think Rakhmonov will ever return
Earlier this year, Rakhmonov’s physician seemed to provide a positive update on the 31-year-old, claiming that nothing is now stopping him from returning to action.
Despite that, though, one of his welterweight rivals, Sean Brady, has predicted that ‘The Nomad’ will never return to fighting, stating that he has been out for too long with the same injury.
At the beginning of the year, Rakhmonov was removed from the welterweight rankings, making his potential return even more questionable.
In a breakdown of some potential future fights in the division, Brady predicted that Rakhmonov will never return to the sport.
“(Carlos) Prates will fight Islam (Makhachev) for the title, and then you have (Michael) Morales fight Shavkat and then the winner of that fights for the belt next,” Brady initially said during an interview with Daniel Cormier.
“Shavkat is hitting pads and stuff and they’re saying he’s coming back but I don’t think he’s ever gonna fight again. I think he’s done. Because he keeps, every time he tries to come back his knee just keeps going out. He’s just not gonna be able to make it through camp.
“Guys with knee problems have the problems over and over again,” Brady continued.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
The welterweight division is widely regarded to be one of, if not the best division currently in the UFC, and Rakhmonov was regarded as a guaranteed future champion.
If his injuries continue to persist, though, he could find himself added to the list of ‘What if’ fighters in UFC history.
2026-08-20 19:00:00
