Shavkat Rakhmonov Builds the Perfect UFC Fighter

Undefeated Kazakh, Shavkat Rakhmonov, will compete in the biggest fight of his professional MMA career on Saturday, the 7th of December in the co-main event of UFC 310 against fellow undefeated contender, Ian Garry. Rakhmonov and Garry’s professional MMA records combined are 33-0, but at UFC 310, one of them will lose their undefeated status.

Rakhmonov, known for his extremely well-rounded game, sat down with ESPN MMA ahead of UFC 310 and was asked to build his perfect UFC fighter based on the aspects of striking, grappling, cardio and chin. Below, GIVEMESPORT will go through Rakhmonov’s selections and some of the reasons behind them.

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Striking: Ilia Topuria

The Spaniard is considered to be the best boxer in the UFC by many

Despite starting out his career as a wrestler and jiu-jitsu fighter, Ilia Topuria’s biggest strength is now his boxing and the speed, power and technique he has in his hands. Even though he has great hands, Rakhmonov’s selection of Topuria for striking could be questioned as in his eight UFC fights so far, he is yet to throw a kick to the body or head, so there could be other kick-heavy fighters such as Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya who also could be considered for striking.

Grappling: Demian Maia

The Brazilian finished 11 of his 22 UFC wins via submission

Demian Maia’s success in the UFC despite having extremely limited striking ability, is a testament to his grappling and jiu-jitsu skills. The Brazilian competed for two UFC titles during his career against Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva. Despite being unsuccessful, he managed to defeat some huge names during his UFC career, where he stifled them with his dominant and skillful grappling ability. Maia was an absolute specialist at dragging his opponents to the ground and managing to latch up his go-to submission, the rear naked choke.

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Chin: Jon Jones

Jones has never been dropped in his MMA career

There have been many tough and durable fighters throughout UFC history who have had granite chins, however, one man who is not credited enough for the strength of his chin is the consensus MMA GOAT, Jon Jones. In his 30 professional MMA fights so far, ‘Bones’ is yet to be dropped despite having a few moments where he has looked slightly hurt on the feet. Now that he is competing in the heavyweight division, it will be interesting to see if the strength in Jones’ chin holds up against Tom Aspinall if that fight is to materialise.

Cardio: Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib was known for his relentless pressure and cardio

Khabib Nurmagomedov is arguably the most dominant fighter in UFC history and a big reason behind his dominance and relentless pressure was his cardio. Khabib’s style may not have visually looked the most tiring due to him being on top of his opponents most of the time, but the venom he put into his ground and pound and the strength he needed in his arms to hold his opponents down at will would typically tire a lot of fighters, but the Russian’s gas tank was almost unstoppable.

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