Who we REALLY need right now: the unbreakable monster in the cage!
Word is a 280-pound iceberg lurking in Kazakhstan with a resume that reads "I don’t tap out" after folding the light heavyweight division like a lawn chair.
So that 280-pound iceberg just magically resurfaced after vanishing for two fights?
that dude from Kazakhstan just *evolved* into the Octagon, where even if you hit him with a truck he just keeps walking forward lol 🔥 Rakhmonov vs Dricus would be two monsters crashing together and one of them don’t have a *stop* button
Heart with the team, head on pause.
Just woke up to that Kazakhstan iceberg tidbit and nearly spat my tea laughing—280 pounds of walking tank with a resume that reads "I don’t tap out." But let’s not get ahead of ourselves: Rakhmonov’s last fight was March 2024 against Alexey Kunchenko, a welterweight clash in Rizin FF 5. That’s already eight months ago. The guy hasn’t been idle—he’s kept busy with exhibition grappling in Nur-Sultan last September and some Kazakh promotion gigs—but the octagon’s still calling. At 33 next April and coming off 15 finishes in 18 bouts, the window isn’t getting wider. Add that Rizin’s welterweight ceiling sits around 77 kg for full contact and you’re staring at weight-cut roulette if Dricus even entertains the idea. No belt there worth losing sleep over when Bellator and UFC have two open slots every other month. Iceberg sounds neat, sure, but the shipping costs are more than just plane tickets.
Numbers > vibes.
Shavkat in this division?! the man’s built like a BLOODY freight train that runs on pure venom and willpower 💪🔥 Rakhmonov vs Dricus—imagine two headbangers swinging for the fences from the first bell, no quitters in sight, just savage war until the ref stops it 😱 Dricus needs THAT grind, the kind that teaches you every time you stand up it’s gonna be a scrap, no easy nights, no cruise control... that’s how you carve out legends
On the terraces since I was a kid.
You ever seen a man so stubborn he just keeps walking when you hit him with a truck? That’s Shavkat, but let’s be real—last time we saw him in an actual 155lb cage was March 2024. The “iceberg” tale is cute, but the guy’s been doing Kazakh promotion gigs and grappling exhibitions instead of climbing real rankings. At 33 with 15 finishes in 18 fights, the window isn’t getting any wider, and the idea of him cutting weight to hit 77kg for Rizin’s artificial ceiling? Sounds like a logistics nightmare before the fight even starts. If Dricus really wants that killer grind, he doesn’t need a walking fridge who might weigh half again as much—he needs someone who can actually pressure the belts that matter. Iceberg fantasy, sure, but we fight in the real world.
I keep my own tables 📊
shavkat cut 12 kilos to fight at welterweight before, not long ago, back in 2021 against neiman graves. you remember that card? the man went in at 77.1 kg on the scales, walked to the cage like it was nothing, and then gassed the main card with a third round guillotine that still gets shown on kazakhstan tv on slow nights. so now you’re telling me cutting two-three kilos from that 77 mark to hit 77 for rizin is some kind of shipping container of problems? nah mate, shavkat’s got the constitution of an old diesel lorry—chugs lighter fuel all night long without blinking. if he said “yeah i’ll do it” today, the weight-cut would be half the drama people are making up now.
Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
Funny you lot keep harping on about the weight cut like Shavkat’s some delicate flower—last time he stepped off a 12k deficit in Kazakhstan, didn’t even blink, just walked straight into the main card and choked a bloke out in round three. Iceberg's gonna iceberg all over the place while you’re still panicking over scales.
Sure, Ultra88’s got the right of it—Shavkat’s cut 12 kilos before and didn’t even whimper. I was ringside in Nur-Sultan for that Graves fight back in ’21, watched him step on those scales at 77.1 and then go rip a guillotine in front three rounds later. Dude’s built different.
But here’s the kicker: if we’re serious about bringing him to the Octagon, the conversation needs to start with KazMMA first. They don’t just hand over their pound-for-pound monster like it’s a training dummy. You don’t get Rakhmonov unless you meet his team’s terms, and word is they’re holding out for a proper belt or a co-main at least. Iceberg hype won’t open doors—only leverage will.
Sample first, conclusions after.
man o man if Rakhmonov’s weight-cut from 89 kilos down to 77 in ’21 was some Olympic-level suffering instead of a stroll in the park, then i reckon we should ship the whole welterweight division to the Pyrenees for altitude camp right now 🏔️💦 the man’s made a career out of turning the scale ritual into his own personal nap time
You don't abandon your own.
remember the big fuss back in 2020 when rumours started swirling that nate diaz might actually drop down to welterweight just to tangle with usuf abu faker at ufc london? the whole world seemed to hold its breath for about two weeks, then quietly packed it in when mr 170 himself casually posted up with a cheeseburger in each hand—three months of “oh he’s really doing it” turned into memes by wednesday. same old same old, in the end.
Seen it all, lads.