Who do you feed to one of the most dominant fighters in the sport right now?
The undefeated boogeyman who has finished 18 of his 19 fights is a good place to start. Shavkat Rakhmonov has built a ton of hype. If it weren’t for injuries and a string of inactivity, he would have already fought for the title.
However, it must be acknowledged that he hasn’t fought in 2025 and it’s hard to allow him to skip the line. However, a unanimous decision win over Ian Machado Garry the last time he fought along with his undefeated record would make it pretty easy to sell the fight.
If you want to make the activity argument then Michael Morales is the next best bet. Coming away with a win over Sean Brady gives him a leg up on Rakhmonov as he also has a 19-0 record with wins over Gilbert Burns and Neil Magny before knocking out Brady.
If we’re looking at name value then Kamaru Usman has to be recognized. The former champion came back to the welterweight division with a convincing win over Joaquin Buckley.
At 38, the time is running out for him to make one last run at the title and his name still carries weight. That could be enough to jump the line.
