With his win over Ian Garry at UFC 310, Shavkat Rakhmonov firmly established himself as the #1 contender for the welterweight title against Belal Muhammad in 2015. But he’s not the only one winning titles in the Rakhmonov family. A video of his sister Sora defeating Valeria Karygina at NFC 51 – Naiza Fighter Championship 51 – is going viral.
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Sora looked as vicious as her brother. As a matter of fact, her clinch work looked eerily similar to the UFC’s welterweight boogeyman. But it was her ferocious punches and elbows that really got everybody’s attention.
This fan noticed just how similar their techniques were and said, “They fight the exact same.” Others also found a lot of similarities between the siblings- “They got the same build. Long arms. And also fight the same way“. This guy joked that it wasn’t real and said, “No way, this AI nowday was crazy“.
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However, there was a section of people in the comments who thought this was a great opportunity to have the UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira’s sister Aline fight with Sora Rakhmonov.
One fan commented on how both pairs of siblings fought exactly alike and said, “Best base for MMA, get your sisters to fight exactly like your style“. And he wasn’t the only one who noticed this- “Poatan has one too and she kinda fight like him aswell“. This guy just put it out there in the universe to manifest and said, “Shavkat sister vs Pereira sister“.
But can they fight, for real?
Is Sora UFC bound?
Following her win over Karygina, she had taken the mic and called for a UFC contract. She was scheduled to fight Ernesta Kareckaite for a shot at said contract during the Dana White Contender Series but had to pull out.
Shavkat, who at the time was preparing for the Stephen Thomson fight, had, however, seemed optimistic about her chances. Speaking to Ariel Helwani, he had said,
“I don’t know when she’s gonna be signed, but all I know is that she’s ready for UFC and she has a good level. She’s showing great performances, and I haven’t spoken about her plans yet. All I can say is that she’s ready.”
Sora’s last fight was in May 2023. Right now, there are a lot of rumors suggesting that since her marriage later that year, the budding mixed martial artist has retired from the sport. However, in the interest of aspiring women mixed martial artists everywhere, do not take it to heart, unless you hear it from the horse’s mouth.
As far as her matchup with Aline is concerned, the younger Pereira sibling is still active in the MMA circuit and is making her way up the ranks and promotions. So, hopefully, one day if the stars are aligned…
