Shavkat Rakhmonov was expecting to challenge Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title earlier this year in Montreal. Unfortunately, “Nomad” blew out his knee (blame this guy) and was forced to withdraw, paving the way for Jack Della Maddalena’s upset win over “Remember the Name” back in May.
That’s what happens when you “go against the gameplan.”
Rakhmonov (19-0) is rumored to be making his comeback at one of the upcoming pay-per-view (PPV) cards in November or December. If so, welterweight contender Sean Brady — ranked one spot above “Nomad” at No. 2 — will be waiting. Then again, this tragic development may throw a wrench into those plans.
‘’I seen through a little birdie that that Shavkat was saying something about him coming back in November or December,” Brady said on his BradyBagz show. “So I want to fight soon, but I would wait and fight him at MSG on the same card as Jack [Della Maddalena] and Islam [Makhachev]. And then that’s a true number one contender fight.’’
Unfortunately, Rakhmonov is not interested in “intermediate fights.”
A lot can change between now and the end of the year, depending on the still-to-be determined timeline for Maddalena’s first welterweight title defense. The current plans is to have former lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, get his long-desired crack at the 170-pound crown; however, nothing is official at this time.
Stay tuned.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
