A detailed breakdown of Shavkat Rakhmonov's performance against Ian Garry highlights several key areas of improvement for the Kazakh fighter. Rakhmonov demonstrated significant progress at mid-range compared to his bout with Neil Magny, consistently landing clean strikes including jabs, overhand rights, left hooks, and spinning backfists. He dominated in the clinch for four rounds, controlling Garry and taking his back, while also becoming the first UFC fighter to take Garry down in the center of the cage, accomplishing this twice. The analysis notes Rakhmonov controlled distance, rhythm, and cage positioning throughout most of the fight, though questions remain about his low activity at long range where Garry scored heavily with kicks. Despite Garry outscoring him on the outside, Rakhmonov won the crucial mid-range and clinch battles, which the analyst considers the most important aspects of MMA combat.
