This past weekend at UFC 285, Shavkat Rakhmonov defeated Geoff Neal via submission. It was the fight of the night. Neal was Rakhmonov's first real test in the UFC. Shavkat showed how tough he was being able to withstand Neal's blows. They don't call Geoff Neal "Hands of Steel" for no reason, but on Saturday Rakhmonov had a titanium chin. A lot of people did not believe Neal was going to be able to go toe to toe with Rakhmonov. In the end, Shavkat forced Neal to tap with a standing rear-naked choke. After the fight, the reaction on the internet shifted. The internet began to say Shavkat isn't that guy, or Neal exposed Shavkat. Meanwhile, the diehards just know to credit Geoff Neal for landing clean shots on Rakhmonov and making him look somewhat human. Former Flyweight and Bantamweight Champion, Henry Cejudo did an amazing breakdown of the fight which would prove the casuals saying Rakhmonov was exposed wrong.
In my eyes, I still find it very hard to see Rakhmonov lose to anyone. So who's next for Rakhmonov?
Following the outstanding victory against Geoff Neal, Shavkat called out Colby Covington. Belal Muhammad has also been knocking at Covington's door for quite some time. Covington hasn't fought in almost a year now. Yet, he still hasn't moved from his number two spot in the Welterweight rankings. Muhammad is ranked fourth and Rakhmonov is now ranked sixth today. Would I be surprised if the UFC booked Rakhmonov vs Muhammad and the winner faces the winner of Edwards vs Usman 3 which takes place in two weeks? No, I wouldn't be surprised, but this would be extremely unfair to Belal Muhammad who will fight anyone, anytime, anywhere because Bully B is coming off of a huge win against undefeated Sean Brady and has been climbing the UFC rankings for quite some time. Dana White recently said Colby Covington is ready to fight.
He should be booked against Belal Muhammad and Shavkat should face the winner of Gilbert Burns vs Jorge Masvidal which is booked for UFC 287. Colby should be ready to go having taken a year off, while Belal is also ready to go having fought last in October. Shavkat and the winner of Burns vs Masvidal's recovery timelines should also line up better as well. Personally, I think Gilbert is going to make light work of Jorge, hence we are going to see Shavkat vs Gilbert Burns.
What UFC fan is going to complain about Muhammad vs Covington and Rakhmonov vs Burns? Those will be great fights that happen close to the middle-end of 2023. The winner of Muhammad/Covington will most likely face whoever wins the Welterweight Championship Bout coming up at UFC 286 Edwards vs Usman 3, while the winner of Rakhmonov/Burns should be next in line. The drama in the Welterweight division is heating up. I believe Rakhmonov winning the Welterweight Title is inevitable. The question is who will he take it from?
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