Rising UFC Star Shavkat Rakhmonov Says He Can Beat Khamzat Chimaev, Kamaru Usman and Even Mike Tyson but Changes Tone for Francis Ngannou

After staying under the radar for the most part of his short UFC career, the 28-year-old Shavkat Rakhmonov appears to be finally receiving the attention he deserves. The Kazakh fighter, who was recently praised by Chael Sonnen during his appearance on The MMA hour, is set to step inside the cage this weekend. Rakhmonov will be facing Geoff Neal in what could be a breakthrough fight for the undefeated welterweight prospect. Currently, he’s been riding high on his win streak and a hundred percent finish record. Moreover, ‘Nomad’ hasn’t shied away from displaying his confidence to the fans ahead of UFC 285.

In one such instance, the 28-year-old fighter, during his media duties, displayed his self-belief as he answered a few questions regarding potential fights. ‘Nomad’s’ response here was just a small reminder of how confident he was as he heads into an extremely important fight of his career.

Shavkat Rakhmonov was given some fighters’ names and was asked if he could beat them. 

This particular clip saw the welterweight sit down and give responses to a set of rapid-fire questions. As names of different fighters were thrown at him, all Rakhmonov had to do was respond if he would be able to beat them in an MMA fight.

His confidence was clearly visible as he answered with a yes to almost all the names except for former heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou. While he didn’t hesitate in claiming that he’d beat the likes of Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards, and even Khamzat Chimaev; ‘The Predator’s name got the welterweight laughing before he responded, saying ‘no’.

Surprisingly, the likes of Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury also did not seem to instill any fear in the welterweight, unlike the former UFC heavyweight’s name.

Despite some feeling that the Kazakh was overconfident, the majority of the people in the comments loved his self-belief.

The undefeated Kazakh is set to return against Geoff Neal at UFC 285

After almost nine months away from the cage, the Kazakh fighter is set to return against Geoff Neal, who sits a few places above Rakhmonov in the WW rankings. A win here could see ‘Nomad’ climb up; getting him closer to the coveted UFC gold or at least to one of the earlier-mentioned names.

And considering that the 28-year-old’s performance clearly has been nothing sort of phenomenal; it’s no surprise that he heads into the fight as a favorite ahead of the American. Also, the fact that the fight takes place under a Jon Jones main event means Rakhmonov will certainly have way more eyes on him, giving him the biggest platform of his career so far.

Read More: “I Think at Least He’s Going To Be…”- Shavkat Rakhmonov Has Surprising Prediction for Khamzat Chimaev’s 185lbs Ambitions

Do you think his confidence will translate into a dominant performance on fight night? Let us know in the comment section below.

Watch This Story: Everything You Need To Know About Shavkat Rakhmonov Ahead of UFC 285