👀🤼Chase Hooper doubts Shavkat Rakhmonov’s grappling skills:
“We haven’t seen him fight a grappler…He’s certainly undefeated, but let’s try to match him against a good wrestler before we give him a shot at the belt.”
🎥 @Home_of_Fight
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— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight)
December 11, 2024
Chase Hooper thinks Shavkat Rakhmonov has yet to show he’s ready for a shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship title.
Rakhmonov (19-0) was originally offered a welterweight title challenge against Belal Muhammad at UFC 310 earlier this month before “Remember the Name” was sidelined due to a bone infection. Muhammad was replaced by Ian Garry in a potential title eliminator against fellow undefeated contender.
Rakhmonov entered the match as a heavy -290 favorite, but Gary, a +215 underdog, gave him the advantage. “Nomad” went to the ropes with a unanimous decision, but struggled to take down Garry throughout. It was also the first time Rakhmonov ran the long distance in 19 career matches.
Rakhmonov is expected to win the next gold medal at 170 pounds, but Hooper (15-3) believes the Kazakh needs to pass at least one more test. According to The Dream, Rakhmonov will need to prove himself against elite grapplers such as Sean Brady and Kamaru Usman before being offered a title fight.
“I’ve never seen him fight a grappler, at least not in the UFC,” Hooper recently told James Lynch. “It’s not at a high level. I think I’d rather just see that. There’s just so much hype behind him right now that I want to see if that’s the case. He’s definitely undefeated. But let’s see him go up against good wrestlers, because there’s a lot of guys like that at 170. Let’s go up against him. Let’s play against Sean Brady. [Kamaru] Usman. before giving him a shot at the belt. ”
Meanwhile, Hooper also picked up a submission victory over Clay Guida at UFC 310, giving him four wins in a row and three finishes.
