Shavkat Rakhmonov is not coming back in January. His manager, Daniel Rubenstein, said so himself on X on October 30. He also shut down a social media rumor that the undefeated welterweight was in talks to face former champion Jack Della Maddalena in his return.
“Completely false and inaccurate. JDM hasn’t been mentioned as an opponent and Shavkat won’t be returning in January,” Rubenstein wrote.
That’s two rumors dead in one post. The second one stings more. Bloody Elbow reported that things had been trending toward The Nomad walking back into the Octagon in January or February. With January now off the table, February is the earliest window still standing from that projection, and Rubenstein didn’t commit to anything.
How we got here
Rakhmonov, 32, hasn’t fought since 2024. That’s when he handed Ian Machado Garry the first loss of his professional career. Since then he’s been dealing with a knee injury that required several surgeries and a long stretch of rehab. In July, his physician gave a positive update and said there was nothing stopping him from returning to competition. Months later, he still has no date.
The Kazakh’s last real shot at a booking came apart this month. Michael Morales publicly teased a fight with Rakhmonov. Then the Ecuadorian got picked for an interim welterweight title fight against Carlos Prates, with Islam Makhachev out of the picture. According to Bloody Elbow, the original plan had Makhachev facing Prates while Morales and Rakhmonov fought to decide the next challenger. Dana White was asked about Rakhmonov vs. Morales and hinted that it had been in the works at one point. Once the interim belt went on the line, that matchup was gone and Rakhmonov was left without an opponent again.
That gap is where the Della Maddalena rumor came from earlier this week, and on paper you can see why it caught on. Della Maddalena hasn’t competed since May, when he headlined UFC Perth against Prates. Prates dominated him and finished him in the third round. A former champion coming off a loss and an unbeaten contender coming off surgery would have made sense as a pairing. According to Rubenstein, though, nobody on Rakhmonov’s side ever discussed it.
Quick take
I don’t want to see a half-healed Shavkat. A fighter whose knee needed several surgeries should take every extra week he needs, and I won’t criticize anyone for holding off. The cost is still real, and it gets steeper each month. Morales and Prates are about to fight for an interim strap in a division Rakhmonov never lost a fight in. Whoever wins gets to call himself champion while the guy who beat Machado Garry is still doing rehab. The longer the layoff runs, the less his undefeated record helps him in title conversations, because the 2024 win keeps getting older. Rakhmonov’s camp has now confirmed what isn’t happening twice in one month. What fans actually want from them is a confirmed month for the return.
