Michel Prazeres versus Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC Vegas 30 was a welterweight booking with some wild size differences between the 5’6″ Brazilian and 6’1″ native of Uzbekistan native. However, while Prazeres is a tank of a welterweight, he didn’t have a strength advantage over his opponent over the fight’s two rounds.
Shavkat Rakhmonov submits Michel Prazeres in the second round at UFC Vegas 30
In the opening round, the two grappled often and the 26-year-old showcased his clinch game advantages over the 29-fight veteran. Taking down Prazeres and controlling him for large parts of the round. That grappling and strength advantage continued in the second round where Rakhmonov showed off some powerful ground-and-pound. Using his long frame to post up and drop bombs while still staying out of submission danger.
As the round progressed, he was able to transition to the 39-year-old’s back and lock in a rear-naked choke with 2:51 left in the round. It was his seventh submission victory and Prazeres’ first-ever tap-out loss in a career dating back to 2000.
Rakhmonov moved his record to 13-0 and has back-to-back finishes to start his UFC career. Fighting out of Kazakhstan, Rakhmonov is helping to put the country on the map as another eastern European source for MMA talent.
The defeat marks two straight losses for Prazeres–following a February 2019 loss to Ismail Naurdiev–for the first time in his now 30-fight run in the sport.
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