Shavkat Rakhmonov dominated middle and close range against Ian Garry

A detailed analysis of Shavkat Rakhmonov's fight with Ian Garry highlights several key strengths Rakhmonov displayed. He showed significant improvement at middle distance compared to his bout with Geoff Neal, consistently landing strong single strikes including jabs, overhand rights, left hooks, and spinning backfists. Rakhmonov dominated the clinch for the first four rounds, regularly taking Garry's back and controlling with deep underhooks. He became the first in UFC history to take Garry down in the center of the octagon, achieving this twice and landing ground strikes from top position. The analyst noted Rakhmonov's overall control of the fight except in round five, though he was criticized for low activity at long range, where he absorbed many leg kicks. Despite Garry winning the long-range battle significantly (19.5 points to 1.75), Rakhmonov won the middle distance (15.75 to 10.25) and close range (18.5 to 11.7), which are considered the two most important distances in MMA.