Unbeaten welterweight contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov remains a betting favorite to land a victory over incumbent divisional gold holder amid continued links to a future UFC championship showdown between the two.
Edwards, the current undisputed welterweight champion, most recently headlined UFC 296 back in December, landing a one-sided unanimous decision win over former interim titleholder, Colby Covington in the pair’s long-anticipated grudge fight.
As for Rakhmonov, the Uzbekistan-born contender turned in another stoppage victory on the same card to boot before the turn of the year, battling through a pre-existing injury to land a second round rear-naked choke submission win over former two-time title challenger, Stephen Thompson. The victory saw Rakhmonov move to 18-0 as a professional, and land the number three rank at welterweight to boot.
Leon Edwards vs Shavkat Rakhmonov Betting Odds
And despite Edward’s impressive winning run as champion which contains successful title defenses against former gold holders, Kamaru Usman, and the aforenoted, Covington, the Birmingham native is a +180 betting underdog to beat the current -210 betting favorite, Rakmonov if they share the cage before the close of the year.
Linked with a massive return at UFC 300, Edwards has been earmarked to fight surging championship chaser, Belal Muhammad in a title fight rematch in Las Vegas, Nevada, and while fans are sure to place bets on the expected championship re-run, platforms such as the hi lo casino site can help punters and gamblers identify the best casinos and slots to play with whilst in ‘Sin City’ – or even from the comfort of their own home online.
Backed to at least challenge for Octagon spoils in the future, if not turn in a dominant reign as welterweight champion, Rakhmonov has so-far landed an impressive run of six consecutive victories and finishes since he moved to the UFC from M-1 Global – where he previously turned in a title win to boot.
For Edwards, the Birmingham native has enjoyed a two-fight winning run atop the welterweight pile since his ascension back in August 2022, successfully defending his title in a rubber match against Usman, prior to December’s shutout win over Covington.
And eyeing a quickfire return to the Octagon, Edwards has been earmarked to fight the surging Muhammad in the pair’s rematch, however, at the time of publication, the pairing has yet to be officially confirmed by the Dana White-led promotion.
In the immediate aftermath of his title fight win over Clovis native, Edwards remained non-committal on a title fight re-run with Muhammad, pointing to an apparent slew of other deserving contenders.
“Nah, there are definitely other options,” Leon Edwards said. “I don’t feel like Belal (Muhammad) should be next. I’ve done it before. I’ve won like 10 fights and didn’t get a title shot. So, what makes him different or more privileged.”
“So, Colby’s (Covington) already skipped the line already, let’s see who’s next,” Leon Edwards explained. “But like I said, this is the ‘Rocky’ era, it’s my era now and I’ll keep reigning, whoever’s next. It doesn’t matter, they’re all similar styles anyways. All boxers and wrestlers, it’s what I’ve built my career on. So, whoever comes next, it’s whatever, you know.”