Ahead of the biggest fight of his career, UFC welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov has explained that he's competing for more than just himself.
I was the first man from Kazakhstan to win in the UFC. I was the first person from Kazakhstan to sign with the UFC. As long as I have the desire and the fire inside, I will never stop chasing that belt,” Rakhmonov added. With a population of 19 million, some 313 million shy of the United States, it’s perhaps unsurprising that MMA has developed at a slower pace and with fewer prospects emerging. While he was born in Uzbekistan, Rakhmonov became a Kazakh citizen in 2017. But beyond that, “Nomad” is fighting for so much more — his love of country.
Follow the UFC 285 live blog for Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov, the featured welterweight fight on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Four opponents have fallen before the Kazakh fighter in just over two years in the promotion, and now “Nomad” hopes to cement himself as a future title challenger with a win over his highest-ranked opponent yet. As a result, Neal will forfeit 30 percent of his purse to Rakhmonov, and he still has to face one of the scariest prospects in MMA. [UFC 285](https://www.mmafighting.com/fight-card/1361/ufc-285-jones-vs-gane) live blog for [Geoff Neal vs.
We break down pre-fight odds, provide round-by-round odds, and get you the eventual result for Geoff Neal-Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 285.
Rakhmonov lands a huge right hand shot and Neal having a kodak moment. Neal is trying to hold on and Rakhmonov has seized control of the fight again. Whew, Rakhmonov lands a big time jab and Neal stuck in his tracks for the moment. Each time Neal lands a shot, Rakhmonov smiles and acknowledges great work from both fighters. Rakhmonov lands a huge head kick and Neal is now cut, that kick was thrown with some velocity. Rakhmonov starts with a high kick, Neal now against the cage.
Undefeated Rakhmonov takes on Geoff Neal at UFC 285! Check out our UFC odds series for our Neal-Rakhmonov prediction and pick.
Neal will be more than willing to stand and bang with him, so look for Rakhmonov to be creative in keeping distance and using his kicks against Neal’s front leg. This fight will still be close, but the weight miss for Neal is worrisome when considering a possible injury he’s dealing with. Nevertheless, Neal will have a real advantage on the feet with his crisp striking and heavy hands. Neal will have a willing dance partner in the stand-up with Rakhmonov. Neal will be at his biggest disadvantage in the wrestling. If he chooses to stand in the pocket and bang with Neal, he might get hit with a few shots and possibly rocked. Many are speculating that Geoff Neal is coming in to this fight heavy as a strategic tactic to outweigh Rakhmonov in the grappling. After making a name for himself on DWCS, Neal went on to win his first five consecutive fights in the UFC by using his heavy hands. However, for a fighter in Neal that rarely misses weight, a miss like this could be indicative of a lingering injury or illness. Most notably, the lethal fighter from Kazakhstan has finished all 16 of his fights, half by knockout and half by submission with nine of those being in the first round. Neal came in heavy by five pounds and will forfeit 30% of his purse. The tension of the UFC 285 Main Card will be as high as ever when we take a look at this upcoming bout between ranked fighters in the Welterweight (170 lb) Division.
UFC 285 results: Full fight coverage of Welterweight pay-per-view (PPV) match tonight (Sat., March 4, 2023) between Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov from ...
Neal was trapped, and he was forced to submit. Just over a minute into the round, Rakhmonov managed to close distance into the clinch, but Neal defended the trip. Knees and elbows scored by the bunches for “Nomad,” but Neal showed off incredible toughness to endure the punishment. Rakhmonov really committed to a single leg takedown, but Neal managed to keep his balance. Consecutive high kicks scored for Rakhmonov to start the third, but Neal fired right back. In the end, though, he did ultimately serve as a stepping stone, as Rakhmonov landed dozens of power punches en route to a late slick submission finish.
Shavkat Rakhmonov has claimed that he would beat the likes of Khamzat Chimaev, former UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Tyson Fury in a recent ...
With Rakhmonov and Neal booked to fight, the past week was flush with media day obligations. The onus now falls on the Kazakh to put his money where his mouth is. The time has come for Shavkat Rakhmonov to back up his talk. Shavkat Rakhmonov has claimed that he would beat the likes of Khamzat Chimaev, former UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Tyson Fury in a recent interview. Nomad is proficient in all facets of mixed martial arts. The 28-year-old is currently riding a 16-fight win streak, with four of them coming in the UFC.
Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov odds and betting breakdown. UFC 285 features a riveting welterweight matchup between Geoff Neal and Shavkat Rakhmonov.
[BetMGM](https://www.oddschecker.com/us/free-bets/betmgm), a whopping 79% of all bets on Geoff Neal vs Shavkat Rakhmonov odds are backing Neal to win. Geoff Neal vs. Since then, the market has largely come in on the favorite, pushing up to at least -500 everywhere as of Thursday. Stephen Thompson ended Neal's seven-fight winning streak in 2020, but since then, wins against Luque and Santiago Ponzinibbio have shown that Neal is back on track. On March 4th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, UFC 285 will feature a riveting welterweight matchup between Geoff Neal and Shavkat Rakhmonov. The planned date for this fight was January 14th; however, Neal withdrew due to a late injury.
Despite the weight cutting issues and the dominant fighter in front of him, Neal put up a tremendous fight, catching Rakhmonov with several clean punches and ...
While Neal was willing to exchange strikes with Rakhmonov, it was Rakhmonov who got the best of most of those trades. Rakhmonov bounced back from being stumbled in that final round to maul Neal along the cage. Rakhmonov justified the hype, battling through tough spots before scoring a third-round submission to run his perfect record to 17-0.
Join us tonight on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, and round by round scoring for UFC 285 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The televised four-fight prelims will air on ESPN+ and ESPNews and will start at 8pm ET/5pm PT. There are five early prelims on ESPN+ and Fight Pass that will kick off around 6pm ET/3pm PT. The featured bout of the prelims will see former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt taking on Trevin Jones.
An all-out slugfest between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Geoff Neal at UFC 285 ended with a submission.
Jessica Penne via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 2:14](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/%E2%80%9Chttps://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-285-video-tabatha-ricci-taps-jessica-penne-start-baby-shark-era%E2%80%9D) [Farid Basharat def. Julian Marquez via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:12](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/%E2%80%9Chttps://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-285-video-marc-andre-barriault-vs-julian-marquez-tko%E2%80%9D) [Ian Garry def. Song Kenan via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:22](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/%E2%80%9Chttps://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-285-ian-garry-tko-win-conor-mcgregor-celebration%E2%80%9D) [Cameron Saaiman def. Esteban Ribovics via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/%E2%80%9Chttps://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-285-jon-jones-ciryl-gane-heavyweight-title-shevchenko-grasso-play-by-play-live-results%E2%80%9D) Derek Brunson via TKO (corner stoppage) – Round 2, 4:59](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/%E2%80%9Chttps://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-285-results-derek-brunson-vs-dricus-du-plessis-towel-throw-ko%E2%80%9D) [Amanda Ribas def. Da’Mon Blackshear via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/%E2%80%9Chttps://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-285-jon-jones-ciryl-gane-heavyweight-title-shevchenko-grasso-play-by-play-live-results%E2%80%9D) [Loik Radzhabov def. Trevin Jones via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/%E2%80%9Chttps://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-285-results-cody-garbrandt-practices-patience-in-unanimous-decision-win-over-trevin-jones%E2%80%9D) [Dricus Du Plessis def. Mana Martinez via majority decision (29-26, 29-27, 28-28)](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/%E2%80%9Chttps://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-285-jon-jones-ciryl-gane-heavyweight-title-shevchenko-grasso-play-by-play-live-results%E2%80%9D) [Tabatha Ricci def. Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/%E2%80%9Chttps://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-285-jon-jones-ciryl-gane-heavyweight-title-shevchenko-grasso-play-by-play-live-results%E2%80%9D) [Marc-Andre Barriault def. Jamie Pickett via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:54](https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-285-results-bo-nickal-vs-jamie-pickett-debut-ncaa-wrestling) [Cody Garbrandt def. The catchweight bout (Neal missed the welterweight limit) was part of the main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Despite Neal’s miss on the scales, Rakhmonov appeared to be the visibly bigger fighter.
Welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov proved to have a chin, heart, and plenty of skill in a wildly entertaining catchweight fight at UFC 285.
The two welterweights went back-and-forth early on, engaging in an absolute slugfest, testing one another’s chin with each crippling blow. After a series of heavy exchanges, Shavkat Rakhmonov pulled off a standing rear-naked choke in the waning minutes of the fight, emerging victorious and remaining undefeated, his record improving to 17-0. In what had the potential to be crowned “Fight of the Night”, Shavkat Rakhmonov reminded fight fans around the world that his hype train is still chugging along in 2023.
UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane took place March 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Welterweight contenders Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0) and Geoff Neal (15-5) ...
Neal lands a left. Rakhmonov grabs a choke from the side!!!!! Like a standing bulldog choke and Rakhmonov gets the tap with short time!!!!!!! We restart and Rakhmonov lands a big knee! Neal lands a 2-3! And we’re back to a clinch, where Rakhmonov is kneeing the body. And corralling Neal to the fence. Back in space and Rakhmonov lands a nice right hand over the guard. Head kick from Rakhmonov glances and Neal is hurt! Rakhmonov tries a trip but Neal defends. Neal lands a left hand. Rakhmonov lands a kick.
Joe Rogan and Daniel were left in awe of Shavkat Rakhmonov's performance as he secured a final round submission victory over Geoff Neal at UFC 285.
I wanted to buy it myself, but then when people found out that I wanted to walk out with the headdress, they gave me it as a gift.” Traditionally this headdress is usually made up out of a wolf or fox skin. [pic.twitter.com/ndCbEkPbUS] [March 5, 2023] [pic.twitter.com/ybRZpple4E] [March 5, 2023] [pic.twitter.com/8VNMHpSQS2] [March 5, 2023] [@JoeRogan]😂 [#UFC285] [pic.twitter.com/APkcI7VMjZ] [March 5, 2023]
On the main card of UFC 285, we saw a massive showdown in the welterweight division. Undefeated top prospect Shavkat Rakhmonov (16-0) faced his.
Knee to the body from Rakhmonov now. Knee to the body from Rakhmonov and they break. Big knee to the body again from Rakhmonov. Knee to the body on the break from Rakhmonov. Knee to the body from Rakhmonov. Clinch from Rakhmonov and then he lands a knee to the body. Knee to the body from Rakhmonov and they clinch. Body kick and a long jab from Rakhmonov lands. Big uppercuts from Rakhmonov and then Neal lands back. High kick attempt from Rakhmonov and Neal tries to answer. Nice right hand from Neal and a body kick from Rakhmonov. Right hand from Rakhmonov and a body kick.
Shavkat Rakhmonov and Geoff Neal put on an impressive fight that earnt fight of the night honours at UFC 285. Rakhmonov and Neal each put their best into ...
Rahkmonov would press him against the cage while keeping him busy with simple strikes and hand fighting before transitioning to a back position where he locked in a simple choke. He would respond with a strong and stiff right that, when it connected with Neal it almost got stuck in his jaw somehow the way it delayed coming back. Rakhmonov and Neal each put their best into the other with powerful offense but in the end, it was the shiftiness of the Kazakhstani that made the difference.
Shavkat Rakhmonov calls for a welterweight title shot following his win over Geoff Neal at UFC 285 in Las Vegas.
And if it’s Abu Dhabi, it would be beautiful.” Champion Leon Edwards is scheduled to defend his belt against former champ Kamaru Usman in a trilogy rematch at UFC 286 on March 18 in London. It was UFC’s decision, but I’m ready for the title shot.
Shavkat Rakhmanov could have another $50K added to his win but Dana White broke a rule to reward Geoff Neal for his performance.
Jon Jones pledged his award bonus amounting to $50k, for community service in Albuquerque, New Mexico. ADVERTISEMENT Rakhmanov will not mind the loss much as he extended his winning streak to 17 fights.
Shavkat Rakhmonov calls for a welterweight title shot following his win over Geoff Neal at UFC 285 in Las Vegas.