A guide to Shavkat Rakhmonov's finishing ability

 The words “Shavkat Rakhmonov” echo across every Instagram comment section mentioning the welterweight division, and have been for some time. The horse meat loving marauder has achieved somewhat of a mythical status as a contender, his undefeated status with every win coming by finish, coupled by his Kazakhstani heritage has earned him a sizable following. The hype behind him is so powerful that the matchup with 15-0 undefeated prospect Ian Garry is seen by many as an easy stepping stone for him. Even the current champion Belal Muhammad, who is riding an 11 fight unbeaten streak with many top contenders, has been placed as a large betting underdog against Rakhmonov. While Shavkat’s record is impressive, much of his success has come as a product of his relentless aggression, his offence and finishing ability pulling him through some very competitive fights. This aggression is a means to an end, trying to create a panic reaction out of his opponent which Shavkat can then punish. While Rakhmonov is not as invincible as his fans make out, his ability to find finishes as his adversaries try to find an answer to his forward pressure is well worth studying.

While the words “jab merchant” are the furthest thing anyone could think of when describing Rakhmonov’s style, it is an extremely integral part of his game. Geoff Neal the southpaw was able to give Shavkat a lot of issues by extending his lead hand and covering the path of Shavkat’s jab. The reason Shavkat’s jab is so important is that it gives him a way to apply offence effectively and in great volume. Backs the opponent up and gives them something that they are forced to react to. Mixing up feints and jabs will back a fighter up or force them to circle, something Rakhmonov can then punish. When standing in front of his opponent Rakhmonov will almost exclusively throw straight shots. Jab straight jab combinations and teeping when out of range. It may seem silly to only throw straight shots but it gives the opponent a clear answer to the problem that Shavkat is presenting them. To circle. Spinning back kicks and wheel kicks are often seen as flashy and impractical, but if you can get an opponent to circle into them you dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes a spinning strike to land, making such powerful strikes a lot less risky to throw. One of Rakhmonov’s most impressive finishes against Carlston Harris came as he moved away from his punches, only to run headfirst into Shavkat’s heel in a wheel kick. If his opponent decides to move in the opposite direction it runs them straight into a right hand or a head kick. Shavkat can use his jab as a marker to know that his adversary is in range for a right hand, often doubling or tripling up punches from the same side of his body to punish his opponent for circling into him. Shavkat is known for being a wild striker but his setups are often very measured, herding his victims into the big flashy moves that he is known for.

The difficulty with punishing an opponent's reactions is that there are often a hundred ways to respond to any given move. Different fighters have different trained responses to situations. If you throw a right hand against Alexander he might hop back and leg kick you. If you throw a right hand against O’malley he might pivot to the open side and hit you with a left straight counter. If you throw a right hand against Georges St-Pierre he might look to duck under your squared hips and time a double leg takedown. If Shavkat’s pressure can’t get you circling he has many ways to deal with your response. Geoff Neal’s answer to Rakhmonov’s straight shots was to bite down on his mouthpiece and look to take his head off (which he almost did on many occasions). If the opponent decides to enter a firefight Shavkat will often just say no, snuffing counter strikes out by grabbing wrists or taking a Thai clinch. This shuts down a lot of potential punches coming his way, but also gives him a platform for his effective clinch striking, folding over elbows from the wrist grab and hammering with knees. If the opponent doesn’t choose a pocket exchange and instead tries to kick, Shavkat will look to punish them by catching it, sweeping the leg out and looking for a takedown, giving him top position and allowing him to work his dangerous top game. Rakhmonov’s success comes from getting specific reactions, but it is important that he has ways of dealing with his opponent if they don’t give him what he wants. The ability to adapt to different reactions is what separates the good fighters from the very good fighters and Shavkat’s success can be attributed to his ability to punish his opponent’s other options, coaxing them into eventually giving him the ones he wants.

Rakhmonov’s Eastern European last name has brought a lot of eyes to his grappling game. Shavkat’s success in his grappling comes from the fact that he is great at punishing the two biggest metas in standing up in mma, the wall walk and the half guard wrestle up. Top half guard is arguably the most powerful pinning position in grappling, making it extremely effective in mma for wet blanketing and passing. This only applies when the man on top has the underhook however, as half guard is also a powerful position to wrestle up from when the bottom man can dig an underhook, leveraging it to drive into a “dogfight” position, often using it to stand up or even get on top. Rakhmonov will happily give up the underhook when on top, clinging on to an overhook and unloading onto his opponent. The second he feels the bottom man building head height to finish the get up, Shavkat will look to sink in a guillotine of a darce. This has given him many finishes, but also opens him up to the possibility of more ground and pound as the opponent pulls their head back, lining themselves up for Rakhmonov to place some nasty elbows. If the bottom man doesn’t go for the underhook get up they will likely go for the wall walk. Since Chuck Liddell popularised it the wall walk has become the way to just stand up. The wall gives the man building up an extra base to lean on, giving them essentially a third leg to drive into and get back onto their feet. Another benefit of the wall is that it makes it very difficult to insert both hooks to take the back, making the classical collegiate wrestling style stand up a lot safer. Rakhmonov has multiple finishes in the ufc from snatching up the rear naked choke as the opponent exposes their back against the fence. While a white belt would get scolded for trying to go for the choke without getting their hooks in, Rakhmonov importantly makes sure to control the hips in some way to prevent an opponent from escaping. A great example of this is against Geoff Neal, where he inserted a hook around the outside of his leg, much like an uchi mata, preventing Neal from turning away and escaping the choke. While metas are important, with there being a reason for them existing, they also lead to predictable reactions. By learning how to deal with said reactions, Rakhmonov has been able to expect these responses to being taken down and counter them, leading to many finishes.

Highlight reels are either made through genius or recklessness. Shakvat Rakhmonov often seems reckless. He gets hit a lot. He throws out techniques that some would consider high risk. But Rakhmonov is no prime Justin Gaethje. He isn’t looking to just trade blows. By driving up the pace and forcing reactions out of his opponent, Shavkat can create reactions that he can capitalise on. Shavkat’s finishing ability is a product of his aggression, but only to the point where his aggression can act as a catalyst to give him the response that will give him the finish.