Should Shavkat Rakhmonov and Kamaru Usman Fight for Interim Title?

There isn’t a question that Shavkat Rakhmonov deserves an opportunity to fight for the UFC welterweight title. What the UFC will have to figure out quickly is if they want his first title challenge to be for a unified belt or an interim one. In Rakhmonov’s case, he is asking for his fight at UFC 310 in December to be for the interim belt.

Rakhmonov, according to MMAfighting latest news, would like to fight former champion Kamaru Usman for the temporary title. But that choice of opponent raises a lot of questions. Usman, while a decorated champion in his day, is on a three-fight losing streak.

There are a few other ranked fighters who may feel like they deserve an opportunity to hop ahead of the line. Current champion Belal Muhammad is expected to be out for a few months with a foot injury.

Expect the chatter around who should win the title to get weird. Here’s a look at what to expect.

Why Not Ian Garry?

Irish star Ian Machado Garry would make for a good matchup with Rakhmonov. Both men are undefeated, and Garry brings something to a potential fight that Rakhmonov doesn’t. Garry brings his ability to sell fights by utilizing his gift of gab.

It’s not that Rakhmonov isn’t personable. He seems fun. But with the UFC’s large English-speaking audience, Garry would be able to help give the fight a proper build-up. Rakhmonov has been working on his English but is still working on learning all of the proper phrases, according to MMA breaking news.

Garry was recently booked in a fight with Joaquin Buckley. But the UFC would have to reconsider this matchup if they could promote Rakhmonov and Garry for the Belt. Rakhmonov is undefeated and has finished all 18 of his wins.

A fight between the two would be exciting. Most of the criticism Garry has received in his career has been over his situation with his wife. This is not something that should ever hold him back from fighting. Instead, this should be an opportunity for the UFC to launch the next major Irish star.

Garry is the hottest fighter from Ireland since Conor McGregor climbed through the ranks.

Usman Isn’t Really a Worthy Challenger

Usman is still chasing his spot back on top of the mountain. It’s hard to imagine there still being a spot for him up there, given how his career has been going over the past five years. Usman took a nasty knockout loss to Leon Edwards a few years back, which lost him the title.

During the rematch, Usman fought valiantly but looked slow and unable to handle the more spry Edwards. Usman’s best performance may have been a decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev.

While the best MMA news site shows that people still think Usman can fight well, few believe he deserves a shot at the belt following three consecutive losses. The UFC isn’t above putting people in championship fights based more on name recognition than merit.

Colby Covington fought Edwards for the title last year, though few believed the American wrestler deserved that opportunity.

What Makes Rakhmonov Special?

In a time when UFC fans are complaining about not enough fights ending inside the distance, Rakhmonov has bucked that trend. He has finished every opponent inside the distance.

He is willing to take on difficult challenges. However, Rakhmonov will still need to do a lot of work to elevate his status if he can become champion. Rakhmonov’s best win in the UFC is over former title challenger Stephen Thompson.

Rakhmonov hasn’t been in the promotion long enough to build up a large list of wins. However, Rakhmonov has shown he has the pedigree to have a large amount of success.

Will the UFC do Interim Titles?

The UFC has had more than a few interim champions during their history. However, the UFC’s current interim heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, may be the most embarrassing case scenario. Aspinall is a young fighter who is at the top of his game.

However, Aspinall can’t fight for the title because he has to wait for Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones to fight first. Jones is the current heavyweight champion but has missed a lot of time due to injury. The UFC is insisting on having a legends fight between Miocic and Jones instead of allowing Aspinall to challenge Jones for the belt.

Interim titles usually don’t last as long as Aspinall’s reign has. Aspinall has actually defended the interim belt. Rakhmonov won’t want to get stuck in a similar situation. He deserves a chance to fight for the undisputed title. The UFC may be better off waiting for Muhammad to get back instead of risking potential injury or something happening to Rakhmonov before they have the opportunity to fight.

What About Leon?

It is rare to see a champion get as quickly discarded as Edwards seemed to be following his defeat. Edwards defeated Usman with one of the most exciting head-kick knockouts in UFC history. But once Edwards was dominated by Muhammad earlier this year, there didn’t seem to be a big push to see him back in the championship picture.

Edwards may not be able to meet the time window for a fight at the end of this year, but he should be under consideration if an interim title is at stake.

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By Dean McHugh.