Belal Muhammad is probably feeling pretty good about his chances against Shavkat Rakhmonov after seeing ‘Nomad’ go five rounds at UFC 310.
While Rakhmonov scored his 19th career win in the evening’s co-main event, his clash with Ian Machado Garry left a lot to be desired. Rakhmonov largely dominated the action against the fence and logged nearly 12 minutes of control time en route to a unanimous decision victory, but it was the first time that the Kazakh looked human since UFC fans became familiar with him in 2020.
Looking back on Saturday’s scrap during an appearance on Michael Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast, Paul Felder thinks the reigning welterweight world champion probably got a big boost of confidence after seeing how the title eliminator between Rakhmonov and Garry played out in Las Vegas.
“I think if you’re Belal, you’re pretty happy with either one of those guys winning, right? I mean, they spent a lot of time in the clinch,” Felder said. “There were a lot of moments of inactivity, whereas a guy like Belal Muhammad is going to be relentless in those positions—against the fence, with the takedown attempts.
“Now, I know Shavkat potentially had a pretty bad knee injury that he was dealing with. How badly that affected him, we can’t really know, but he did look a little off to me. But I’m telling you, if I’m the champ, I’m excited for the next matchup with him. I think a lot of times we see when these guys are so scary and get all these finishes, once somebody shows a little bit of weakness in them—shows that there’s a chance to beat them—other guys are very excited at the opportunity. So, I’m excited to see that fight happen.”
Rakhmonov reportedly went into UFC 310 with a pre-existing injury
With the win, Rakhmonov is expected to be the first man to challenge Muhammad after ‘Remember The Name’ scored a decisive decision win over ex-champion Leon Edwards earlier this year in Manchester. Originally, Muhammad had hoped to defend his title at UFC 310, but a bone infection in his foot forced him to bow out of the bout.
According to Daniel Cormier, Rakhmonov tore his MCL ahead of the fight with Garry which could explain why ‘Nomad’ chose to take a more measured approach against Garry.
“If I’m Belal Muhammad, I’m actually kind of happy watching this fight tonight because Shavkat Rakhmonov did not look like himself even though I learned after that he had an injury,” Cormier said in a video on his YouTube channel. “I think he might have tore his MCL going into the fight. Granted, with a torn ligament in your knee you’re not going to look like the killer that you looked like in fights prior.”
No details have been revealed regarding the extent of the injury or how long it could put Rakhmonov on the shelf, but he is expected to undergo an MRI this week.
