Shavkat Rakhmonov’s UFC Return Is Uncertain

Shavkat Rakhmonov still cannot put a date on his UFC return. The unbeaten welterweight has not competed since beating Ian Machado Garry in December 2024, and the knee problem he carried into that fight has proved far more costly than one difficult night. Rakhmonov now says a comeback is far from guaranteed, a sobering admission from a fighter who had appeared to be moving directly toward a title opportunity.

His message is not a retirement announcement. It is an honest account of a recovery that has refused to follow a convenient schedule. Rakhmonov wants to fight again, but he is no longer presenting that outcome as something he can promise. Until his knee responds well enough for a full training camp, an opponent or projected date would be speculation.

The Garry fight changed Rakhmonov’s trajectory

Rakhmonov entered the Garry bout with an injured knee. He has since acknowledged that accepting the fight was a mistake, even though he went on to win. The joint swelled badly, and the demands of the contest made an existing problem worse. In practical terms, the victory preserved his unbeaten record while taking away the momentum that should have followed it.

That is what makes the layoff so frustrating. Rakhmonov had established himself as one of the division’s most dangerous contenders through pressure, grappling and a reliable finishing instinct. Beating another leading welterweight should have strengthened his title case. Instead, rehabilitation became the main story, and the division continued moving without him.

There is also an important lesson in the way he now describes the decision. Fighters often compete with injuries, particularly when a major opportunity is at stake, but winning does not mean the gamble was harmless. Rakhmonov believes the damaged knee was not ready for the kicking, scrambling and sustained load of a high-level fight. The result on the scorecards cannot erase what happened afterward.

Uncertainty is not the same as retirement

Rakhmonov’s wording leaves two truths in place. He remains interested in returning, and he cannot guarantee that his body will allow it. Those positions are not contradictory. A serious rehabilitation can contain progress, setbacks and long periods in which even the athlete does not know how close he is to competing safely.

For the UFC, that uncertainty makes matchmaking impossible for now. A contender cannot be placed into a bout agreement on reputation alone; he has to be able to train, make weight and enter fight week with reasonable confidence in the injured joint. Rakhmonov has not announced that he has reached that stage, and the promotion has not attached him to a new opponent.

His absence also changes how the welterweight picture should be discussed. Rakhmonov’s ability and record still make him relevant, but a title route cannot be built around an unavailable fighter. Other contenders will continue taking assignments while he works through recovery. If he returns, the length of the layoff and his physical condition will matter as much as the name across the cage.

• Rakhmonov has not fought since defeating Ian Machado Garry in December 2024.
• He says he entered that bout with a knee injury and now believes he should not have competed.
• He wants to return, but has not promised that a UFC comeback will happen.

The careful conclusion is more restrained than either a comeback prediction or a retirement headline. Shavkat Rakhmonov is still trying to restore a knee that altered the course of his career at its most promising point. He has not closed the door on fighting, but he is no longer pretending that determination alone can open it. The next meaningful update will be evidence that he can complete a proper camp, not another name added to a speculative matchup list.