Shavkat Rakhmonov dominated Ian Garry on middle and close range despite loss on outside

A detailed breakdown of Shavkat Rakhmonov's performance against Ian Garry reveals he controlled the fight on the most critical distances. Rakhmonov impressed with progress at mid-range, landing power shots and backing Garry up consistently. He dominated the clinch in the first four rounds, took Garry down twice in the center of the cage, and controlled the pace and distance overall. However, Rakhmonov gave away significant points on the outside distance, landing almost no leg kicks while Garry accumulated 19.5 points there. Despite the scoring appearing close overall, Rakhmonov's dominance on the middle and close distances, which are the most important for damage and control, justified his victory. The analyst views Rakhmonov as a quarter or half-class above Morales, Garry, and the best version of Belal, though he would likely give up a quarter-class to Islam Makhachev.