Shavkat Rakhmonov Teased 19-0 vs 19-0. Ian Garry Says He Already Took That Fight.
Shavkat Rakhmonov posted a TikTok captioned “19-0 vs 19-0.” A second post showed a spider emoji, which is Michael Morales’ logo, and the year 2027. Rakhmonov is 19-0. Morales is 19-0. The message was not subtle.
Then Ian Machado Garry said the UFC had already offered him that same main event and he had accepted it.
“I’ve said YES,” Garry wrote on Instagram, adding that the date is locked in, that it would be a main event, and that “UFC sent the date.”
The UFC has announced none of this
No event, no date, no venue. Rakhmonov’s hint points to 2027. Garry says a date exists now. Those two things cannot both be accurate, and the promotion has confirmed neither.
What is real is that Morales opened the door himself. In an Instagram video on Sunday, he named Islam Makhachev, Carlos Prates, Rakhmonov and Garry as options, then added a line aimed at Garry: “Oh, I almost forgot about you.”
Garry responded by claiming the fight. Rakhmonov responded by claiming the matchup. This is three welterweights negotiating in public.
Rakhmonov has been gone a long time
He is 31 and has not fought since a unanimous decision over Garry at UFC 310 on December 7, 2024. That is roughly a 22-month layoff.
He was pulled from a title fight against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 by injury. A January 2026 report put a knee injury at nine to 10 months, and he was removed from the No. 2 welterweight ranking as a result.
So the man teasing 19-0 against 19-0 has not competed in almost two years and has already beaten the other man claiming the fight.
Morales is the most dangerous of the three
He is 27, Ecuadorian, 19-0, and ranked No. 3 at welterweight. He is on a seven-fight UFC win streak with three straight first-round knockouts: Sean Brady at UFC 322 in November 2025, Gilbert Burns in May 2025, Neil Magny in August 2024.
Stopping Brady and Burns inside a round is not a streak against journeymen. That is a contender clearing out the top of a division.
Garry, 28, is 17-2 and coming off a unanimous decision loss to Makhachev at UFC 330 in August. He beat Muhammad by decision in Qatar in November 2025.
Why Morales should want Rakhmonov
Makhachev is the champion. Carlos Prates is reported as the front-runner for the next title shot. That leaves Morales needing a win over somebody the division respects, and a 19-0 Rakhmonov is worth more than a Garry he can point to as already beaten by his rival.
Garry’s claim is the one that needs the most support. He lost to Rakhmonov, he lost to Makhachev, and he is announcing a main event the promotion has not acknowledged.
The fight everyone wants is 19-0 against 19-0. Until the UFC says so, it is two TikToks and an Instagram post.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
