Outside Source
Makhachev (28-1) moved up to welterweight to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the title at UFC 322 earlier this month. While this was billed as the toughest test of Makhachev’s career, it turned out to be anything but. The former lightweight champ ragdolled Maddalena at will for five rounds to earn a unanimous decision win.
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A Different Challenge for the Champ
However, Rakhmonov (19-0) is not convinced about Makhachev’s skill set just by his performance against Maddalena. “Nomad” wants to see for himself whether Makhachev is as good as he seemed at UFC 322, or if Maddalena was just terrible that night. The undefeated Rakhmonov believes he is well-rounded enough to pose a threat to Makhachev in all aspects.
“I believe Islam had a great performance,” Rakhmonov said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “But I also want to find out for myself: Is it JDM had such a bad performance or Islam had such a good performance? I believe I’m a universal [well-rounded] fighter; I can make it hard for him everywhere. So I just want to find out for myself what’s gonna happen.”
Rakhmonov was originally expected to challenge Belal Muhammad for the title earlier this year. However, Rakhmonov was sidelined with an injury, and Maddalena capitalized on the opportunity to score a huge upset win over Muhammad. Rakhmonov last fought in December 2024, earning a unanimous decision win over Ian Garry, the only time he went the distance in his career. Makhachev recently said that Rakhmonov’s inactivity has made him irrelevant in the immediate title picture. However, Makhachev is ready to take on Rakhmonov if the UFC deems him deserving of the next title shot.
Shavkat Rakhmonov wants to face Islam to see if Makhachev is really great, or if Jack simply wasn’t 😯👀
“I believe Islam had a great performance. But I also want to find out for myself, is it JDM had a bad, such a bad performance or Islam had such a good performance?”
(Via… pic.twitter.com/fDUGestY0p
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) November 26, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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