Dana White on Michael Morales vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov Rumor

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Michael Morales Dana White Shavkat Rakhmonov

UFC president Dana White commented on the rumors flying around about a welterweight matchup between Michael Morales and Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Morales has not fought in nearly a year since he knocked out Sean Brady at UFC 322 in November 2025, while Rakhmonov’s layoff is even longer, as he hasn’t stepped into the Octagon since UFC 310 in December 2024, when he won a unanimous decision over Ian Machado Garry.

But now, with both men teasing returns to the Octagon, there have been strong rumors linking the two to a fight against each other, and it appears that is indeed the case, which surely excites fight fans, as this would be an incredible matchup.

Dana White Speaks About Michael Morales vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov Fight Rumor

Speaking to Paramount+, White reacted to the rumors of a potential Morales vs. Rakhmonov fight. So, is it happening?

“Could be. Could be. If it was done, we would announce it, but yeah, we actually have a lot of cool stuff going on right now that we went over yesterday. Yeah, we got a lot of good announcements coming up,” White said.

How Would This Fight Impact the UFC Welterweight Division?

If the UFC does book this rumored bout between Morales and Rakhmonov, then it would stand to reason that UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev will fight top contender Carlos Prates in his next title defense.

While White stopped short of committing to that title fight, he did say that Prates has put himself in a really good position in the UFC welterweight division to challenge for the belt.

“Yeah, he’s in a great spot. He’s in a great spot in a lot of different areas right now,” White said.

It would make sense for the UFC to book Morales vs. Rakhmonov as a No. 1 contender bout — perhaps for five rounds — as the co-main event on a numbered card featuring Makhachev vs. Prates in the main event for the belt. That would give the UFC an insurance policy just in case something happened to either Makhachev or Prates, so it just makes a lot of sense for this to happen.