A few days ahead of their co-main event welterweight title elimination fight at UFC 310 this weekend, Ian Garry released footage of a light sparring session with Shavkat Rakhmonov from last year, but according to his opponent it doesn’t tell the full story.
“At the time, even though his wife asked me if she can film the footage of us sparring, I accepted it,” Rakhmonov recalled in an interview with Ariel Helwani this week. “But they didn’t ask me if they can release it or not. I wonder why they didn’t release the other part of the sparring.”
When asked why he thought that was, Rakhmonov revealed that it didn’t go well for Garry when they went to the mat.
“Ian Garry taps,” Rakhmonov revealed. “It was a submission, choke.”
Elsewhere in the interview Rakhmonov notes that he could easily have just sat out and waited for his title shot, but he’s happy to go up against Garry instead to solidify his position as the top contender in the division.
“I’m very glad,” Rakhmonov said. “A lot of fighters turned it down, and he backed up his word, so I’m glad I’m fighting.
“As far as I know, Kamaru Usman turned it down and also pretty much everyone from top-15 didn’t accept the fight. That’s why they pulled Ian Garry in. …
“I could have fought for the title. I could have just waited for the title fight, but I wanted to fight. I wanted to stay active and I wanted to strengthen my position as the No. 1 contender.”
That being said, Rakhmonov doesn’t believe that means he has an easy route to victory on Saturday night.
“What’s most important for me is the win,” Rakhmonov said. “Sparring is sparring, fighting is different. Ian Garry is a very tough opponent who is a good tactician, who comes in with a good game plan. So for me it doesn’t matter, submission or stoppage. For me what’s most important is to win.”
Check out Garry’s brief clip of the two’s stand-up sparring session below.
