Guyanese Carlston Harris suffered his first defeat in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), losing to Shavkat Rakhmonov of Kazakhstan via a first round knockout on the main card of the promotion’s Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Strickland event on Saturday.
Staged at the UFC’s Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, Rakhmonov, who originally hails from Uzbekistan, finished the contest at 4:10 in the opening round with a flurry of punches to the head of a downed Harris, after initially dropping his opponent with a spinning heel kick.
Rakhmonov, who is undefeated and is yet to go the distance, improved his record to 15-0. He registered 16/31 strikes for a 50.1% conversion in the impressive display. On the other hand, Harris, whose record now falls to 17-5, recorded 15/35 strikes at 42.9%.
It was the Guyanese’s first loss in the promotion following victories over Christian Aguilera (submission) and Impa Kasanganay (technical knockout) in his two previous outings.
Gavin Singh, President of the Guyana Mixed Martial Arts Federation (GMMAF), during an invited comment said, “Carlston Harris has been a true ambassador for Guyana whenever he walks into the UFC octagon. He has never failed to exhibit the determination and courage as a professional mixed martial arts athlete. Although he was defeated by Shavkat Rakhmonov; he rose to his strength and must continue his quest. This exhibits the true essence of this Guyanese fighter.”
Quoting National Football League (NFL) hall of fame coach Vince Lombardi, Singh said,”It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up”.
Singh added, “The Guyana Mixed Martial Arts Federation stands with our Country’s first UFC fighter with the encouragement and leadership he is showing to the young martial arts athletes in Guyana. The GMMAF wishes to encourage Harris to continue in high spirits along his professional career and remind him that both his failures and accomplishments are an inspiration, not for Guyana but the global community.”
He adde, “As a true and emphatic sportsman Harris has propelled amidst the challenges and grasped a name for himself and Guyana at large. The Guyanese sport’s fraternity and people are happy of his accomplishments and are awaiting his next boot with enthusiasm and pride as he has promoted our country. We continue to wish Carlton Harris well and keep encouraging him to continue flying the Golden arrowhead in his upcoming challenge.”
