Before the belt was even wrapped around Belal Muhammad’s waist, Shavkat Rakhmonov was shooting his shot on social media.
The UFC’s return to Manchester on Saturday night saw the rise of a new welterweight world champion as ‘Remember The Name’ delivered a mostly dominant performance against Leon Edwards in the UFC 304 headliner.
Almost immediately following his unanimous decision victory over ‘Rocky,’ the division’s No. 3 ranked contender called for the first crack at Muhammad’s new hardware.
“Congratulations on your well-deserved victory, @bullyb170! I hope you keep your word and defend your title against me when you’re ready, champ,” Rakhmonov wrote on X.
Nomad’ is a perfect 18-0 in his mixed martial arts career, his last six wins coming inside the Octagon. Perhaps even more impressive is that Rakhmonov boasts a 100% finish rate, choking out Neil Magny, Geoff Neal, and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson in his last three outings.
Belal Muhammad welcomes Shavkat Rakhmonov’s challenge
Never one to back down from a challenge, Belal Muhammad gladly accepted Rakhmonov’s challenge as a first step toward establishing himself as the greatest welterweight of all time.
“Yeah, of course,” Muhammad said on fighting Rakhmonov at the UFC 304 post-fight press conference. “I’ve literally never turned down a fight. I’ve never backed down from anybody. I had so many people turn down fights against me so, now I’m at the top. I’m the man and for me, now it’s cementing my legacy as the best welterweight to ever do it.
“I’m not going to sit there and call out these random guys. Who’s next in line, who’s best in line. I’m going to show you who I am, what I can do. They thought Leon could walk through me, now I’m going to walk through all these other guys” (h/t BJPenn.com).
Bully B’ extended his unbeaten streak to 10 while simultaneously snapping Leon Edwards‘ undefeated run that began all the way back in May 2016.