Unbeaten welterweight contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov has opened as a sizeable betting favorite to win the undisputed crown from Belal Muhammad by the end of the year according to bookmakers, with the duo set to headline UFC 310 in December.
Muhammad, the current undisputed welterweight champion, has been sidelined since he struck gold back in July on enemy soil in Manchester, landing a rematch unanimous decision shutout win over two-time foe, Leon Edwards in the pair’s UFC 304 headliner in the U.K.
For Rakhmonov, the current number three rated challenger has been out of action since he improved to 18-0 back in December of last year, handing former two-time title challenger, Stephen Thompson his first-ever submission loss to keep his finishing rate at 100 percent to boot.
Shavkat Rakhmonov opens as betting favorite to beat Belal Muhammad at UFC 310
And ahead of UFC 310, fans and bettors alike can land themselves a sign up code for Betrivers with Shavkat Rakhmonov a current -200 betting favorite to beat Belal Muhammad, with the champion a current +163 betting underdog to retain his crown at the T-Mobile Arena.
Himself in the midst of an impressive eleven-fight unbeaten streak, Illinois native, Muhammad has yet to be defeated since a decision loss to Geoff Neal over five years ago by the time of his title pairing with Shavkat Rakhmonov.
And during his run, which included his decision success against Edwards, Muhammad has also landed notable triumphs over the likes of Randy Brown, Demian Maia, the above-mentioned, Thompson, as well as Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, and Gilbert Burns to boot.
A former M-1 Global welterweight gold holder prior to his Octagon landing just four years ago, Shavkat Rakhmonov has landed a finish in each and every one of his outings in mixed martial arts – racking up a stunning eight knockouts and ten separate submission stoppages.
And remaining supremely confident ahead of his title showdown with the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov, Muhammad has claimed he will set himself apart from a host of other opponents the former has faced by the time they fight, by the fact he will not be “intimidated” from the get-go.
“I think that the difference between me and everybody he’s faced is I’m not gonna go in there intimidated,” Muhammad said. “I’ve fought in every style; I’ve fought everybody — the best of the best. I’ve been with the biggest names, and for myself, I’ve gotten over all those humps. He hasn’t gotten over that hump yet. A lot of the guys he’s fought go in there intimidated, already seeing him, and you can just see in a lot of these guys they’ll just fall or they’ll break right away for him.
“Now you’re going against somebody that’s tougher; you’re going against somebody that’s not gonna fall; you’re going against somebody that’s gonna stand right there in front of your face the whole time. Then what do you do? How do you react? He hasn’t had to face that type of fighter in the UFC yet; he hasn’t had those types of wars yet.”