Manager: Shavkat Rakhmonov agrees to Neil Magny bout, awaiting Magny to accept

When it comes to the most impressive rising prospects in all of the sport, many will fairly point to No. 11-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight, Khamzat Chimaev. He’s not the only 170-pounder making waves on the come-up, however.

Like Chimaev, Kazakhstan’s Shavkat Rakhmonov (15-0) also boasts a perfect record as he’s ripped through his first three Octagon opponents to score two submissions and one knockout. Overall, Rakhmonov has yet to need the judges’ scorecards.

For his next time out, Rakhmonov is in the process of inking his shot at the division’s top 15 against one of its most seasoned veterans.

“We’ve been offered the Neil Magny fight,” Rakhmonov’s manager Daniel Rubenstein told MMA Junkie. “We’ve accepted it, I’m sure Neil will accept that fight. It’s just about getting the details worked out for it and making sure Shavkat’s taken care of.

“He beats a guy like Neil Magny, you’re looking at top 5 guys for the rest of his career at that point.”

Magny has been a perennial top 15 contender since entering the UFC in 2013 after a run on The Ultimate Fighter 16. In his last fight at UFC Columbus this past month, Magny defeated Max Griffin by split decision to tie Georges St-Pierre’s record for most UFC Welterweight wins with 19.

“Props to Neil Magny. He’s said yes to literally every guy that’s ever been offered to him, you know?” Rubenstein said. “Even on Twitter, he was right away to call out like, ‘Hey, I’m game. Let’s go.’

“I think if he gets through Neil Magny and does it in the same fashion he’s beaten the other three guys that he’s fought so far, we’re gonna have real problems getting him booked,” he concluded.