A comprehensive breakdown of Shavkat Rakhmonov's fight with Ian Garry highlights Rakhmonov's improvements at mid-range compared to his bout against Geoff Neal, his dominance in the clinch for four rounds, and his success as the only UFC fighter to take Garry down in the center of the octagon twice. The analysis notes Rakhmonov controlled distance, rhythm, and cage positioning throughout most of the fight, though he conceded significant points at long range where Garry excelled with kicks. By the analyst's scoring, Rakhmonov won the middle and close-range exchanges (15.75-10.25 and 18.5-11.7 respectively) but lost badly at long range (1.75-19.5). The author suggests Rakhmonov is a quarter to half-class above Garry and Vicente Luque, a full class above Belal Muhammad, and only a quarter-class below Islam Makhachev. The fifth-round mistake where Rakhmonov ended up on bottom was attributed to over-eagerness after successful takedowns in round four.
