Conor McGregor has given his two cents on Shavkat Rakhmonov and whether he would be willing to face the undefeated UFC welterweight down the line.
Rakhmonov’s last fight was a welterweight title eliminator at UFC 310 in December 2024, where he handed McGregor’s countryman, Ian Machado Garry, the first loss of his professional MMA career. The Kazakh phenom was originally scheduled to challenge the then-170-pound champ Belal Muhammad, but “Remember The Name” was forced to withdraw due to a bone infection, after which “The Future” stepped in on short notice and lost his O.
After the Garry bout, Rakhmonov was out of competition due to a meniscus injury and a partial ACL tear. In 2026, there was good news coming from Rakhmonov’s camp. “Nomad” was looking forward to making a return in the first or second quarter of this year. However, he reinjured the same knee and had to go under the knife again.
Conor McGregor, on the other hand, has been out of action after the catastrophic leg injury he suffered in 2021 during his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier. In 2024, “The Notorious” was ready to return to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303, but a toe injury during sparring halted his plans and forced him to withdraw.
This weekend, McGregor is finally making his much-awaited return and is slated to run it back with Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329.
Conor McGregor on Shavkat Rakhmonov
During the UFC 329 media day, when “The Notorious” was asked if he would like to lock horns with Shavkat Rakhmonov, given the fact that “Nomad” has beaten fellow Irishman Ian Machado Garry, Conor McGregor said:
“I know he [Shavkat Rakhmonov] has a heavy injury, and he’s building back from that. So I’ll leave him to it. I don’t really think anything of him at the minute. He’s got a lot of work to do. What has he got to offer me? You know he would have to acquire the title for me to even consider. He’s not a bad fighter. That’s it.”
Check out Conor McGregor’s comments about Shavkat Rakhmonov below:
Shavkat Rakhmonov update
Recently, training footage has emerged showing Shavkat Rakhmonov doing some light sparring and pad work. So far, however, there has been no news on when the Kazakh fighter will return. He was removed from the UFC rankings earlier this year after back-to-back injuries spoiled his return plans.
Check out the footage below:
