“Next target locked in.” —Belal Muhammad, via X.
Undefeated welterweight contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov, wanted to face off against current 170-pound titleholder, Belal Muhammad, with a victory over division phenom, Ian Garry, in the UFC 310 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event on Sat. night (Dec. 7, 2024) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rakhmonov, 30, held up his end of the bargain, shutting down “The Future” over the better part of five rounds to secure the unanimous decision victory. As luck would have it, Muhammad was on hand and crashed “Nomad’s” post-fight interview with Joe Rogan to generate early hype for their 2025 title fight.
The “Sin City” crowd was not overly-enthused to see him.
“I’m excited for it,” Muhammad told Rogan amid a chorus of boos. “I see the crowd booing, right? Those boos are gonna turn to tears real soon, guys. This is another victim I see that I’m gonna break. Another ‘O’ I’m gonna take. Bully B is gonna be ‘And Still’ no matter what, guys.”
Rakhmonov, clearly befuddled by Belal’s rant, mustered up a short and sweet response.
“Get ready, no more injuries,” Rakhmonov said. “We’ll find out who’s the better man.”
Rakhmonov was originally booked to fight Muhammad in the UFC 310 headliner; however, “Remember the Name” was felled by a gnarly toe infection and forced to withdraw. The promotion poached Garry from the UFC Tampa main event (using this bout to replace it) and promised the winner the first crack at Belal.
The UFC 310 victory, which marked the only decision of Rakhmonov’s career, pushed “Nomad” to 18-0, with seven of those wins coming inside the Octagon. No word yet on when the recently-cleared Muhammad will return to defend his title, but first or second quarter of 2025 is probably a safe bet, assuming both fighters remain healthy.
For more UFC 310 results and highlights click here.