Shavkat Rakhmonov’s scheduled UFC fight against Kelvin Gastelum has hit a setback, as Kelvin has withdrawn from the bout. ‘Nomad’ has struggled for a long time to find opponents and with just a little while left before his next bout, this cancellation could be devastating for him.
However, the fight card still may take place with the rising contender on the helm should another fighter steps up. Amidst the current scenario, a former middleweight fighter has voiced his terms for fighting Rakhmonov.
Kevin Holland discloses terms to fight Shavkat
Shavkat Rakhmonov is widely considered one of the top welterweight competitors in the UFC at present. The 28-year-old fighter has an impressive record of 17 fights, all of which he won, making him still unbeaten.
Now that the Kazakh fighter is looking for a new opponent ahead of next month’s UFC Fight Night, Kevin Holland in a recent appearance at The Schomo, expressed that he’s ready to fight Shavkat.
“He’s a beast, he doesn’t know defeat, I’d gladly fight him. Just give me my regular rate and a taco truck. It’s September 16, Mexico’s independence day, so let them pay me my regular rate, pull out the taco truck and I’m in.” Kevin said.
Kevin Holland submits Michael Chiesa in the first round with a D'Arce choke đź‘€ #UFC291 pic.twitter.com/0Ej0W7exkK
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) July 30, 2023
The Kazakh MMA fighter has had five successful matches in the UFC over the last three years, defeating opponents such as Carlston Harris, Alex Oliveira, Michel Prazeres, Neil Magny, and most recently, Geoff Neal. However, he hasn’t responded to Holland yet.
Rakhmonov alleged Gastelum of diet disorder for fight cancellation
Shavkat’s remarkable journey with UFC began in 2020 when he made his debut against Alex Oliveira. The number 6 ranked fighter in the welterweight division had set his eyes to face Kelvin Gastelum next.
Gastelum, however, in a YouTube video posted on his channel yesterday, revealed he has to withdraw from the fight against Shavkat after receiving an elbow that resulted in an open fracture and a few bones that came out fractured.
Shavkat Rakhmonov is a menace pic.twitter.com/7pdjSg4axI
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) August 2, 2023
Kelvin apologized to Shavkat and everybody who was involved in the fight saying, “I feel very horrible about this unfortunate incident. I’m still going to continue training. I can still do my strength and conditioning training (and) movement. I can still do a lot of training with my trainer, Noah Feinberg.”
After agreeing to face Kelvin on Mexican Independence Day, Rakhmonov now believes it’s Kelvin’s turn to accept a fight on his territory in Abu Dhabi at UFC 294.
🚨| Kelvin Gastelum is OUT of his fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov at #NocheUFC on Sept. 16, according to Rakhmonov. pic.twitter.com/VLMDcBVEnF
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) August 1, 2023
Shavkat also mentioned that Gastelum failed to disclose his diet issues, which potentially led to the cancellation of their fight. Nomad, apparently, also hinted at a potential matchup with Dustin Poirier yesterday as Diamond teased a move to the welterweight division.
