If Shavkat Rakhmonov goes on to win the UFC welterweight title sometime next year, he will be the first Kazakh star to have done so. The undefeated star has his eyes on the prize for a while now, and just missed out on a title shot, courtesy of a bone infection the champion Belal Muhammad suffered. But ‘Nomad’ will still proudly represent the pale blue and yellow of Kazakhstan this weekend at UFC 310.

He is proud of his country and is often seen describing the rich culture of the Asian country of Kazakhstan. It is natural that he speaks in his native tongue but since he is a global star, does he speak in English too?

What is Shavkat Rakhmonov’s primary language?

Shavkat Rakhmonov is soon getting into the Octagon against Ian Garry for a co-main event welterweight bout at UFC 310. So there are a lot of interviews ‘Nomad’ has to give that are in English. Kazakh is his native language since he was born in the town of Shurchi in Uzbekistan in 1994 to Kazakh parents. 

Shavkat Rakhmonov and his family decided to move to their ancestral home in the country when he was 16. He is from the Altynbai clan of the Alimuly tribe of the Junior Zhuz of Kazakhstan like his father. Rakhmonov’s mother is from the Konyrat tribe. He holds a Kazakh citizenship and is very proud of his country.

He discussed many times how his ancestors were warriors and are still worshipped by the country’s people today. The 27-year-old also revealed that he has been active in fighting since he was a child. “What makes Kazakhstan different is its soul. People are very friendly and very hospitable, and the men are very bold and daring. I don’t want to boast about my ancestors, but they were no ordinary people. They were steppe nomads. They would move from place to place. They were a warlike people,” he said.

He can speak in the language of fists, of course, which we have seen with his unblemished 18-0 record and other than that he speaks Japanese and Oʻzbekcha. However when it comes to English, ‘Nomad’ needs to brush up his game, according to his opponent Ian Garry.

Can Shavkat Rakhmonov speak English? 

Garry has always praised his Sanford MMA teammate and his fighting skills. But according to ‘The Future’, the only little hurdle Rakhmonov might face is his weak skills in English. According to the Irishman, ‘Nomad’ would be among the topmost fighters in the world if he could speak to the media in English. While speaking about his teammate’s win over Neil Magny, he told James Lynch about the same.

Garry said, “Shavkat’s a savage and he’s just so well-rounded. Like, doing rounds with him in the gym, it’s a pleasure, like he’s so good. And yeah, he deserves all the hype, I mean, the only reason that he isn’t more hyped than he is is because of his lack of English. That’s it. If he could sit up here and talk like me, he’d be one of the top in the world.”

However, Rakhmonov had stated that his fights speak for themselves during a Cageside press interview. Clearly, it does, since he has an undefeated record and now is going to fight Ian Garry at UFC 310. Do you think he can speak in his fight language again and prove himself?