Fighters are throwing their names into the magical UFC 310 hat.
Today (Thurs., Oct. 31, 2024), Belal Muhammad announced he had to withdraw from the UFC 310 main event with a brutal bone infection. He was set to defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight title against surging contender Shavkat Rakhmnov inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With the main event scrapped and Rakhmonov still wanting to fight someone for an interim title, a few fighters have jumped at the opportunity.
The first fighter to throw his name in the mix was No. 7 ranked undefeated Ian Garry.
Garry posted a clip to his Instagram of himself at the UFC 303 post-fight press conference, saying he’d fight Rakhmonov. The caption read, “Straight after my win against MVP…”
A few hours later, Garry posted a photoshopped image of him and Rakhmonov facing off with the caption: “Undefeated v Undefeated Anytime. Anywhere.”
Former UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman also said he wants a crack at Rakhmonov using emojis.
He simply posted some eye emojis and a smirking face.
— KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) October 31, 2024
The final fighter to campaign for a fight with the No. 1 contender is Joaquin Buckley, who is coming off a knockout win over Stephen Thompson.
“I got something to say,” Buckley said in a video responding to Garry’s clip. “Nobody wants to see that fight. People want to see knockouts. People want to see finishes, and that’s exactly what we’ll bring- me vs. Shavkat. He’s got 18 finishes, 10 subs, 8 submissions. Your boy? I got 14 knockouts and just knocked out my last two ranked opponents. So, what do you think I’m going to do to this dude? UFC, this is the fight ya’ll got to make.”
To be honest, all three fighters who campaigned for the UFC 310 main event switch-up have cases.
- Garry is obviously the most likely to get the shot because of his undefeated ranking and hype.
- While on a three-fight losing streak, Usman is a former champion and one of the best Welterweights of all time.
- Buckley is ranked No. 9 at the moment but has looked incredible since moving to Welterweight.
Stick with MMAMania.com for all of the upcoming updates of UFC 310.