Undefeated welterweight star Shavkat Rakhmonov has spent 2025 watching on from the sidelines due to injuries, but it seems he could be back in the Octagon early in 2026.

The 30-year-old Rakhmonov had been scheduled to fight Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title last December, but an injury to the champion saw the bout scrapped and so he had to fight Ian Garry in a title eliminator instead, winning by unanimous decision.

That took Rakhmonov’s career record to 19-0 and set him up for a big 2025, but injury woes have since prevented him from getting the title fight he’d earned, and so now his manager Sayat Abdrakhmanov has acknowledged that he’ll likely have to battle his back back to a shot at the belt when he returns next year.

“He is already back to full training,” Abrdrakhmanov told Ushatayka in a new interview. “Most likely he’ll be in fighting shape by late January or early February. Right now, he’s training twice a day, preparing with the goal of competing early next year. At this point, waiting for a title shot isn’t realistic. He’ll need to come back, remind everyone who he is, make a statement again, and re-earn his shot at the belt. We’ll see how things play out after the November fights and how the division shapes up from there”. 

With seven wins to his name in the UFC so far, including stoppage wins over the likes of Stephen Thompson, Geoff Neal and Neil Magny, the unbeaten Rakhmonov’s return will certainly be eagerly anticipated and hopefully there will be word on who he’ll be fighting next soon.