UFC’s Favoritism Towards Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev Exposed by Shavkat Rakhmonov

Many have accused UFC of favoring certain stars, and Shavkat Rakhmonov became the latest fighter to give instances of such favoritism.

UFC’s Favoritism Towards Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev Exposed by Shavkat Rakhmonov

Shavkat Rakhmonov talks about Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev (Image via Yahoo Sports/Instagram)

Undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov has not competed in the UFC since December 2024. A severe knee injury has kept him out of competition for nearly two years now. In that time, both Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev became double champions to cement their legacies.

Rakhmonov recently gave an interview to ALF Global, coming back to the limelight. He is gearing for a return in 2027. While he was away, Topuria and Makhachev remains some of the best active fighters of the promotion.

Rakhmonov is of the opinion that UFC played a major role in pushing Topuria and Makhachev to the top. The Kazakh phenom claimed that ‘El Matador’ was given convenient opponents to reach the top of the pound-for-pound rankings last year.

The situation in the division changed. Topuria moved up to lightweight. They asked Islam to fight Maddalena, but actually, I was supposed to fight Maddalena… The Spaniard is a good media fighter. They support him so that’s beneficial for him. And it’s beneficial for everyone if Topuria is the champion. They gave him convenient opponents.

Shavkat Rakhmonov told ALF Global

Topuria moving up a weight class made Makhachev leave the lightweight division to challenge for a second belt. Topuria only defended the featherweight title once before moving up. Most champions with the exception of Conor McGregor had to defend multiple times before fighting for a second title.

Rakhmonov didn’t stop there. He targeted Makhachev as well, questioning some of things the Dagestani fighter did once he moved to the welterweight division.

Islam became champion. He was doing some strange things that I didn’t like. Of course, I like Islam as a person, but the most serious contender, the one who deserved it, was me. Maybe I haven’t fought in a year, but I won seven fights in the UFC.

Shavkat Rakhmonov told ALF Global

The strange thing Rakhmonov is referring to here is Makhachev and his team pushing for a title defense against veteran Kamaru Usman instead of young challengers like Michael Morales, Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates.

There was a substantial push to make Makhachev vs Usman last year and early this year before the promotion settled for Garry as the challenger at UFC 330.

For now, Shavkat Rakhmonov is out of the title picture after not having competed in nearly two years. Either Prates or Morales is next for Makhachev.

Nevertheless, the Kazakh phenom only needs a win to challenge for the title as he is undefeated. A Makhachev vs Rakhmonov title fight remains among the most intriguing title fights at 170-pounds.

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Shavkat Rakhmonov reveals what separates him from Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov

2024 was where it all went wrong for Shavkat Rakhmonov. In December of 2024, Rakhmonov was supposed to fight then-champion Belal Muhammad at UFC 310 for the welterweight title. An injury forced Muhammad out and Ian Garry fought the Kazakh star in a title eliminator bout.

Shavkat Rakhmonov says he takes risk more than other Caucus fighters
Shavkat Rakhmonov says he takes risk more than other Caucus fighters (Image via MMA Fighting/Facebook)

Rakhmonov has since come out and said that he was injured going into the bout, and Garry’s leg kicks may have caused further damage.

The undefeated fighter admitted that it was a risk to compete at UFC 310, and he honored the ‘Kazakh Way’ of doing things. He also claimed that fighters like Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov would not have taken such risks.

Nurmagomedov fought once in 2019 and once in 2020 before retiring. Makhachev competed just once in 2024 and so far once in 2026.

Makhachev and Nurmagomedov has a reputation of looking for perfect conditions to fight. Recently, UFC Hall of Famer, Chael Sonnen, said that Makhachev should take risks and be more active like featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

This is likely what Shavkat Rakhmonov is referring to. The Kazakh phenom joined the UFC in 2020 and fought 7 times before his untimely injury in 2024. It remains to be seen if Rakhmonov can get healthy again and one day fight Makhachev for the title.

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