Shavkat Rakhmonov is hoping to square off with UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad later tonight(Sat., Dec. 7, 2024) at UFC 310 LIVE on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Of course, Rakhmonov will have to get through fellow undefeated welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry to get his chance at a faceoff with the champ.
As of now, Rakhmonov is a sizeable favorite to take care of business on Saturday and hand Garry his first professional loss. “Nomad” has looked unstoppable to date with a 6-0 UFC record and all finishes. In fact, Rakhmonov still commands a 100-percent finish rate over 18 professional fights. He’s coming off a massive submission win over former UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson last December.
Luckily for Rakhmonov and Garry, the winner of their matchup is expected to get the next title shot against Muhammad, who captured the belt with a dominant win over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 this past July. Muhammad was expected to defend his title against Rakhmonov at UFC 310, but an injury to his foot knocked him out of commission.
Fortunately, Muhammad is now completely healthy and was just cleared to return to training earlier this week. It helps pave way for his eventual clash with the winner of UFC 310’s co-main event.
“Obviously that’s great news, but right now that’s not the focus right now – I have a fight ahead of me and this is what I have to do,” Rakhmonov told MMA Junkie earlier this week. “I have to come out there and win. After that, then we can start talking what, where, how and when he’s ready and what the plans are. But for now, the focus is this Saturday.”
If Rakhmonov is able to outpoint Garry and push his UFC record to 7-0 then he’ll line himself up for a long-awaited showdown with Muhammad in early 2025. In fact, “Nomad” is hoping to earn an in-cage faceoff with the champion this weekend at UFC 310.
“Of course, that’s not an issue at all,” said Rakhmonov. “If I get the victory, he can come in (the octagon).”
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