Welterweights
NR | Shavkat Rakhmonov (14-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. NR | Carlston Harris (17-4, 2-0 UFC)It may be a stretch to call Harris a prospect at this point. The UFC’s first fighter from Guyana, Harris put together a decade-long resume before getting the UFC call, beating future UFC fighters Michel Pereira and Wellington Turman on his way to the Octagon. On paper, there is not much depth to Harris’ game, as it is mostly built around either attempting to knock out his opponents or selling out for a takedown, but “Mocambique” has enough size and physicality that one of the two options can usually lead to a finish. That has held true through two UFC bouts, as his 2021 campaign saw Harris choke out Christian Aguilera in his UFC debut before knocking out Impa Kasanganay in September, taking care of each man in under three minutes. Up next for Harris is Kazakhstan’s Rakhmonov, who is essentially in the same spot outside of being a few years younger. “Nomad” also put together a bunch of solid wins before making it to the UFC, and the main question for Rakhmonov was how well he would hold up against the promotion’s stronger athletes. So far, so good. Alex Oliveira and Michel Prazeres are powerhouses, and both eventually got caught by Rakhmonov for a submission. This is essentially a coinflip. Neither man’s approach seems to factor much for what his opponent brings, and it will be interesting to see if either of them accounts for fighting a fellow lanky fighter; neither will have their usual reach advantage. Harris is probably the shot-for-shot harder hitter, but the bet is that Rakhmonov is durable enough that someone turns this into a grappling exchange. If that occurs, Rakhmonov seems to be the more dangerous fighter. The pick is Rakhmonov via second-round submission.