“He’s f***ing human…” Ian Garry breaks silence after nearly conquering ‘Boogeyman’ Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310
Rising contender Ian Garry reflects on his performance against welterweight boogeyman Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.
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Ian Garry opens up about his performance after nearly finishing Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 (Image via X/Imago)
Humanizing a dominant opponent requires a special fighter to pull off the miracle. Time and time again, elite fighters run into an immovable challenger. In certain special cases like UFC 310’s co-main event, even a win seems to dull the shine of an undefeated star. This was the story of Ian Garry’s valiant performance despite loss against ‘Nomad’ Shavkat Rakhmonov.
The Irishman’s warrior like spirit truly makes him a difficult challenge for the welterweight division despite losing his undefeated status. After the conclusion of UFC’s final 2024 PPV card, Ian Garry, reached out to his fans to share an update. The Irish mixed martial artist paid respect to his rival Rakhmonov for accepting the short-notice fight. In retrospective, Garry shared his thoughts about the fight and his future.
I showed the world that f***ing boogeyman, that people, they think is the scariest man in the division is f***ing human. He’s human alright, and I nearly beat him. He’s human and two and a half minutes of that fight and it changes. From someone who is a dominant grappler, who nearly finished him. Oh, it was the striker!
Ian Garry via Instagram
‘Nomad’ is mostly regarded as a dominant grappler, who has 10 submissions to his name with 5 coming in the UFC. The 30-year-old saw his biggest challenge yet that led him to being forced into a rear-naked choke in the fifth round. Despite the tough loss, Garry remains in good spirit as his stock has only gone up. The Irish fighter will enjoy a short break and aims to make a title run in 2025.
Prior to UFC 310, Rakhmonov had never gone past the third round in the UFC. Geoff Neal (at UFC 285) was the only one to push him to the third round. As such, Garry did something special against the dominant Rakhmonov. This grueling fight may have added some valuable experience to Kazakh fighter before taking on the champion Belal Muhammad.
However, Muhammad seems to have taken some inspiration from Garry’s last outing. He has promised to have decoded the challenger after witnessing UFC 310 co-main event in the T-Mobile Arena. Reacting to the grueling fight, Rakhmonov offered his thoughts on being nearly choked out.
Shavkat Rakhmonov critiques Ian Garry’s performance after failing to submit him
Rakhmonov, heading into the UFC 310 fight against Garry, had everything to lose. The Kazakh fighter came extremely close to being choked out in the fifth round. A loss here could have knocked him away from title contention, and allow Garry to leapfrog him. Fortunately, ‘Nomad’ managed to escape the choke hold by tucking his chin and reversing the position after Garry reached exhaustion.
Speaking with Caroline Pearce of TNT sports, Rakhmonov was asked about his reactions to the fifth round. Not only did Garry manage to steal round from ‘Nomad’, but he also controlled him on the ground. Despite the dominant showing, Rakhmonov critiqued Garry for not getting the finish.
You know, it was an uncomfortable situation, but I managed to escape it. If I was in the same position, I would have taken his head off.
Shavkat Rakhmonov via Exclusive media interview for TNT Sports
Garry may have lost, but the Irish fighter became the first man to push Rakhmonov to a decision in his career. This feat speaks in volumes about the Irishman’s skillset. ‘Nomad’ getting the next title shot is quite certain, but Garry is not trailing too far behind. Fans can expect to see the duo clash once more, but in the next instance, it might be for the world title.
Related: WATCH: More trouble for Dana White as Merab Dvalishvili gets into ANOTHER fan altercation at UFC 310
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