UFC News: Khabib Pulled Dana White’s Strings to Make Welterweight GOAT Fight Undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov – “Done Deal”

Khabib Nurmagomedov has probably made sure Kamaru Usman will face Shavkat Rakhmonov next. ‘The Eagle’, who retired as a fighter back in 2020, still keeps a keen eye on the sport, and even started his own (now largely defunct) fight promotion, ‘Eagle FC’, where he served as the chief matchmaker.

Back in the States recently to corner his friend, protege, and lightweight champion Islam Mkahchev on UFC 302, the GOAT contender was featured in a documentary about the inner workings of the UFC, where he made a convincing case for Usman-Rakhmonov to UFC boss Dana White.

Khabib Nurmagomedov explains why Usman-Rakhmonov makes perfect sense

A recent documentary called ‘Fight Inc: Inside the UFC’ showed the Dagestani former champion speaking to Dana White and Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz about the former 170-pound king’s next fight. Apparently, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ had told Abdelaziz he wanted to fight Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, which the manager conveyed to Dana White.

However, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was present in the room, felt that Usman should fight undefeated #3 welterweight prospect Shavkat Rakhmonov, instead. The former lightweight champ observed that a potential win over the Kazakh, who is firmly in the title picture, would do wonders for Usman’s standing in the welterweight division.

Nurmagomedov said, “One of the things what make you greatest fighter when you 36-37 and you have fifteen-win streak. Like back in the days, you defend your title many times, you one of the best of all time. And you give opportunity to shine for young guys, this is [what] make you great. And can you imagine if he fight with Shavkat and he beat Shavkat [who is] a beast, he is undefeated, and he beats [him], he’s gonna become contender.” 

And UFC CEO Dana White, agreed completely with Nurmagomedov. “You’re absolutely right,” he said. This delighted ‘The Eagle, who felt the bout would be much more interesting than a ‘Wonderboy’ bout as he backed his Nigerian friend to win against the Kazakh.

“If you gonna fight with Stephen Thompson, like today, and versus Shavkat, what fights gonna make you nervous… Done deal. Abu Dhabi. Shavkat vs. Usman. Let’s go Usman. I know you can do it,” he said. And ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ indeed has a good chance of getting back to welterweight title contention if he defeats Rakhmonov given the rut that he is in at the moment.

Why Usman needs to fight Rakhmonov to get back in the title picture

Kamaru Usman, of course, is on a three-fight losing streak at the moment. Which would be shocking to any UFC fan just two years ago. Before losing his title to Leon Edwards at UFC 278, the Nigerian had seemed nigh unstoppable and had been on a fifteen-fight win streak, one short of Anderson Silva‘s record of 16 consecutive wins.

However, a devastating head kick from the Englishman knocked out the then-champion in the fifth round. Many felt that this loss was a ‘fluke’ on ‘Rocky’s part and that a rematch would put things right. Edwards, however, prevailed again in their UFC 286 rematch and lost a majority decision to the new welterweight king.

After a brief hiatus following the second loss of his UFC career, the 170-pounder accepted a short-notice middleweight title eliminator against Khamzat Chimaev on UFC 294 last year. After three rounds, Usman lost a controversial, majority decision to the Chechen, to suffer the third consecutive loss of his career.

Given his recent record, the former champ is not in a position to contend for his old 170-pound title at the moment. However, as Nurmagomedov correctly pointed out, a win over Shavkat Rakhmonov would put all those concerns to rest given the undefeated Kazakh’s standing in the position. However, until the UFC makes an official announcement, this matchup remains firmly in the realm of conjecture and hypotheticals.