Shavkat Rakhmonov wants everyone to stop writing his welterweight obituary. NY Fights reported Monday that the undefeated contender pushed back against fresh reports of a knee injury. His Instagram story over the weekend put a year on his comeback with two words: “Soon 2027.”
The scare started Saturday morning. Dovy (@DovySimuMMA) wrote on X that Russian MMA outlets were reporting Rakhmonov was injured again. He relayed their claim that the knee couldn’t withstand the strain and added that the best-case scenario had him back in June 2027. That lit up fight Twitter fast, and Spinnin Backfist quote-tweeted it with the bleak verdict that it had never been more over.
By Sunday afternoon Rakhmonov had answered. Dovy posted a screenshot of the IG story, and Championship Rounds reported that Rakhmonov is expecting to return in 2027. NY Fights framed the hint as a return in early 2027. That’s a meaningful gap from the June timeline in the Russian reports. Rakhmonov didn’t give a month, an opponent or any medical detail. The original injury claim also hasn’t been confirmed beyond those outlets, so treat both timelines with some caution until the UFC books something.
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The layoff is already long. Rakhmonov hasn’t fought since December 2024, when he met Ian Machado Garry in an official title eliminator with both men unbeaten. It went the full five rounds. It was competitive, and Rakhmonov took the unanimous decision and kept the zero. Then he disappeared from the schedule.
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The division kept moving without him. Garry, the man he beat, bounced back with wins over Carlos Prates and former champion Belal Muhammad. Those wins earned Garry the title shot against champion Islam Makhachev, and he lost a unanimous decision over five rounds. Garry is now ranked first in the UFC Media rankings. He returns December 5 at UFC Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, where he meets Ukrainian dark horse Yaroslav Amosov in a five-round co-main event.
That’s the part that should sting for Rakhmonov fans. The guy he beat has had three fights, including a title fight, since their night together. The guy who won hasn’t had any, and the fight that was supposed to make him a title challenger now sits nearly two years in the rearview. I want him back badly, because an unbeaten Rakhmonov in a stacked welterweight top 10 is about the most fun thing the division can offer. But “Soon” is carrying a lot of weight in that Instagram story. Until the UFC puts his name on a poster, the only dated timeline anyone has published is the Russian outlets’ June 2027 best case. The clock to watch starts in Riyadh on December 5. If Garry beats Amosov, the welterweight queue gets longer before Rakhmonov ever walks back out.
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