Kamaru Usman feels for Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Earlier this week, news broke that Rakhmonov had re-injured his knee and instead of returning sometime this spring, the undefeated welterweight will be out for another extended leave. Rakhmonov last fought in December 2024, and with “Nomad” now unlikely to return until 2027, the UFC opted to remove Rakhmonov from its welterweight rankings. And that didn’t sit right with former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman.
“I understand [he’s out], but they left Jon in the rankings for almost two, three years,” Usman said on his Pound-4-Pound show with Henry Cejudo.
“I’m not disputing [that Jon Jones is the GOAT]. I didn’t dispute it when he was kept in the rankings. I never disputed that. Rightfully so. But, basically, we’re just picking and choosing when we leave someone in the rankings and when we don’t leave them in the rankings now?”
But his position in the welterweight rankings is not the most pressing issue for Rakhmonov at this moment in time. The 19-0 fighter was twice in line to challenge for the welterweight title, and now, due to recurring injuries, won’t compete for two years and will almost certainly need to take a comeback fight before getting a title fight. And for Usman, the concern is that there’s something wrong with Rakhmonov’s preparation that’s leading to these issues.
“First and foremost, it’s not that he didn’t perform; it’s just you can’t control some of these things,” Usman said. “I feel bad for him, because all you want to do is be healthy, and you want to compete and you want to go out and do something and provide for your family. But, unfortunately, that’s not the case. He continues to sustain these injuries.
“So, one, I would say, potentially, let’s find a new camp. If this is really what you still want to do, let’s find a new camp and let’s take care of our body. Let’s take care of our body until you’re done with the sport. Then you can move home and lead your life the way you want to lead your life. But if you still have aspirations of being a champion and doing all these phenomenal things, then we have to potentially look for a change. Because I believe this is the second time now undergoing surgery. Second or third time with the same injury.
“So I feel bad. I feel sorry for him. … It’s a tough one to be. I don’t admire that situation at all. I’ve been there.
“Shavkat, try to get healthy and get back. We hope big things for him. We hope he gets back to competing.”
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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
RAF out here using the wrong formula to come up with the right answer lol.
For those of you who know/remember Jean-Charles Skarbowsky, this is his son, kinda cooking Jon Jones.
Poor man tried to make a joke, and Bud made him rethink his life.
Paulo looking pretty big.
I have no idea why Shakat got hurt again. Maybe it’s camp, maybe it’s just bad luck. But I do want to note it’s not like he’s made of tissue paper. He had one other injury year in his career before this, but otherwise, he’s been a very consistent fighter. But the pace of this sport is relentless, and fans forget about you if you’re gone for a few months, much less two years.
My hope remains that Shavkat comes back from this like Khabib’s long layoff, and then just does the thing, if only for a short time.
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