What Is Shavkat Rakhmonov’s Ethnicity & Nationality? UFC Star’s Tribe, Birthplace, & More

Shavkat Rakhmonov wants to fight for the title soon, and he had the chance in the palm of his hands, but champion Belal Muhammad had to opt out of the clash, which was scheduled at UFC 310, due to an injury. In came Ian Garry, who’ll now fight ‘Nomad’ in the co-main event in a fight that appears to have huge title implications.

Rakhmonov has terrorized the 170-pound division ever since he arrived in the UFC. Currently looking to clinch his 19th consecutive MMA win, let us take some time to learn more about ‘Nomad’ ahead of his UFC 310 bout.

Is Shavkat Rakhmonov Uzbekistani? Ethnicity and nationality

Shavkat Rakhmonov was born in the district known as Shurchi in Uzbekistan in 1994 to Kazakh parents. However, his father decided to take him and his family back to their ancestral land of Kazakhstan when he was 16, and thereafter, he’d turn into a Kazakh national. Rakhmonov, like his father, is a member of the Altynbai clan of the Alimuly tribe of the Junior Zhuz of Kazakhstan. His mother hails from the Konyrat tribe. ‘Wanderer’ holds Kazakh citizenship and is very proud of his heritage.

In an interview, he shared his experiences growing up in Kazakhstan. He fondly remembered being asked to fight other boys by his older brothers. He stated that his tribe consisted of descendants of nomads who were fierce people often used to engage in wars.

“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,” said Shavkat Rakhmonov.

However, die-hard UFC fans may want to know how his decision to get into the fight business came about, and as per his own words, Shavkat Rakhmonov always loved fighting. Meanwhile, let us now move over to learn a little bit about his religious orientation.

Is Shavkat Rakhmonov a Muslim? Religion and faith

The country of Kazakhstan is one of those where there’s a heavy Islamic population. About 71 percent of the whole population practices and preaches Islam, and as such, Shavkat Rakhmonov is also a devout Muslim. Fans can find several posts on ‘Nomad’s social media handles sharing his religion and snaps of himself from various religious events and ceremonies.

UFC fans might know that Rakhmonov is the only representative of Kazakhstan in the promotion. However, he’s not the first fighter hailing from the landlocked Central Asian country. The first Kazakh fighter, Zhumabek Tursyn, competed in Dana White’s promotion during the early 2010s and was previously a Chinese national. However, he didn’t enjoy nearly as much success as ‘Nomad’.

Now that we’ve established the roots of Shavkat Rakhmonov, let’s take our final look at his early life.

All about Rakhmonov’s parents and early life

As we’ve already mentioned, Shavkat Rakhmonov’s father belongs to the same tribe as him; his mother, however, belongs to the Konyrat tribe. This tribe has ethnic ties to the ancient Turks and the Huns, who were prevalent in Asia during the early half of the last millennia. Other than that, not much information is available in the public domain about Rakhmonov’s parents.

Shavkat Rakhmonov has only known martial arts his whole life, as he’s a former WMMAA world and Asian champion. Moreover, he also has a background in the same combat sports discipline as most of the Dagestani UFC fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov and reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, which is combat sambo.

When he arrived in the UFC, the Kazakh opened up on the beginning of his MMA journey, claiming that he had been competing as a fighter for a long time. When he came across professional MMA, he was determined to make it as the sport excited him. “I loved to compete and fight since I was a kid. When I saw MMA, I fell in love with this sport,” Rakhmonov told the UFC.

The 18-o star is also a former M-1 Global Champion as he captured the welterweight title in that promotion, and even defended it on one occasion. Surely there’s no doubt how accomplished ‘Nomad’ really has been even before his advent into Dana White‘s promotion. But can he get a taste of UFC gold and reach the pinnacle of the sport by removing Ian Garry from the equation? Well, that remains to be seen.