Shavkat Rakhmonov’s sibling comments on road accident involving his family members
Sora Rakhmonova, the three-time hand-to-hand fighting champion and a sibling of prominent UFC fighter Shavkat Rakhmonov, commented on a car accident involving her brother’s close family members. She expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.
«May the Creator be pleased with those who call and are concerned about the situation in my brother’s family! May no one end up in this situation. Only the Creator knows what will happen tomorrow… May the Creator guard my sister-in-law! She lost two close people at once and was injured herself,» Rakhmonova posted on Instagram Stories.
On July 27, a road accident occurred on the Almaty-Yekaterinburg highway involving Rakhmonov’s family. The car was allegedly driven by Gulayim, the wife of Shavkat Rakhmonov. Their son and two of her friends were passengers. Both friends died, while the Rakhmonovs did not suffer serious injuries and were discharged from the hospital the day after the accident.
On the day of the accident, Rakhmonov was in Abu Dhabi at a UFC tournament, where he seconded Asu Almabayev for a bout. The athlete has not yet commented on the accident.
Regarding his return to the Octagon, Rakhmonov has scheduled it for the end of the year. The fighter’s pace of recovery following knee surgery in May will be the key factor. Shortly before the tragedy, Rakhmonov stated that he would prefer a title bout against the winner of the fight between Australian athlete Jack Della Maddalena and Russian Islam Makhachev, yet he expressed readiness to accept a contender fight.
This statement sparked a reaction from Sean Brady, an American professional fighter who currently competes in the welterweight division. He stated that he is ready to share the Octagon with Rakhmonov for a title contender matchup.
«I’ve seen through a little birdie that Shavkat was saying something about him coming back in November or December. So, if he’s coming back in November, I want to fight soon, but I would wait and fight him at MSG [Madison Square Garden] on the same card as Jack and Islam, and then that’s a true number one contender fight,» Brady said at The BradyBagz Show podcast.
According to some commenters on Instagram, this is not the right time to challenge Rakhmonov for a fight. Brady, in turn, stated that he was unaware of the accident at the time of filming the podcast.
«I am praying for everybody’s family’s involved,» the athlete wrote in the comment section.
The 30-year-old Rakhmonov is one of the top contenders for the UFC welterweight title (up to 77 kilograms). He has 19 victories out of 19 MMA fights under his belt, including seven in the UFC, six of which ended before the final bell. He is currently ranked third in the division.
