Outside Source
Chase Hooper thinks Shavkat Rakhmonov has yet to show he is ready for an Ultimate Fighting Championship title shot.
Rakhmonov (19-0) was originally offered a welterweight title shot against Belal Muhammad at UFC 310 earlier this month before “Remember the Name” pulled out due to a bone infection. Muhammad was replaced by Ian Garry in a potential title eliminator against the fellow undefeated contender.
While Rakhmonov was a massive -290 favourite going into the fight, +215 underdog Garry gave him a run for his money. Although “Nomad” roped in a unanimous decision, he struggled to take Garry down throughout. It was also the first time Rakhmonov went the distance in 19 career outings.
While Rakhmonov is expected to get the next gold bid at 170 pounds, Hooper (15-3) believes the Kazakh should pass at least another test first. According to “The Dream,” Rakhmonov should prove himself against an elite grappler in the likes of Sean Brady or Kamaru Usman, before being offered the title shot.
“We just have never seen him fight a grappler in the UFC at least,” Hooper recently told James Lynch. “Not a high level one. I guess I more just want to see that. Just there’s so much hype behind him right now that I want to see if that’s founded. He’s undefeated for sure. But let’s see him against a good wrestler. Cause there’s so many of those at 170. Let’s see him against a Sean Brady, let’s see him against a [Kamaru] Usman. Before just giving him the shot at the belt.”
Meanwhile, Hooper also picked up a submission win over Clay Guida at UFC 310, which put him on a four-fight winning streak with three finishes.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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