UFC 310 took a major blow with welterweight champion Belal Muhammad pulling out of his title fight. Shavkat Rakhmonov wants to stay on if the UFC chooses a new opponent for the December 7 PPV event. There’s been a lot of talk about what will happen. Veteran names like Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington now emerge out of the woodwork as a challenge.
It’s been a week since welterweight champ Muhammad announced that a foot infection had forced him to withdraw from UFC 310. One possibility that has been mooted is that Shavkat Rakhmonov will face former 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman for an interim title. While ‘Nomad’ has been pushing for this fight to take place, Usman relays his thoughts.
Definitely the UFC knows who to call when that situation happens. And if they do give me a call, I’m gonna answer the call, get a couple things straight, and if we’ve got to do it, we’ve got to do it.
Kamaru Usman via the “Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru Usman & Henry Cejudo” Podcast
Last year, Usman filled in and dropped one against Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight fight at UFC 294 less than two weeks before the event. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ lost a majority decision to Chimaev. However, he gave a more convincing performance than Robert Whittaker against Chimaev.
Kamaru Usman, 37, is on a three-fight losing streak and eager to rebound in a familial setting after fighting once at 185. He wants all the heat and this is hardly a nightmare for ‘Nigerian Nightmare.’ The only deterrent to that (if one were to believe his version) is Colby Covington snatching up Rakhmonov.
Colby Covington reveals he offered to fight Shavkat Rakhamonov at UFC 310
Colby Covington says he has put himself into contention for UFC 310 in a fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov. Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) was to be the top bill title challenger at UFC 310 this December for the 170-pound belt.
When Muhammad said he needed six weeks due to his foot bone infection, the Kazakh even floated the idea of an interim belt to clear the line. Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC), a former multiple title challenger, revealed that he had offered to step in vs. Rakhmonov. But UFC (allegedly) had other plans.
I offered. I told the UFC that I was willing to step up to the plate, …I would love to save the show and put on a good show for the fans. They pay their hard-earned money for big, megafights. They need a megafight. That’s not a mega fight. They need someone who is going to put asses in seats and entertain people, so I was excited. I wanted the fight, and I asked for it
Colby Covington to Denis Shkuratov for the ‘Submission Radio’ Show for SBNation Network (🎥: @SubmissionRadio on YT)
One needs to absorb much of it with a grain of salt, given recent traits. Welterweight Ian Garry (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) has been angling to meet Covington for a grudge billing. But the latter has been playing a game of “he said, he said not” for the last few.
‘Chaos’ also says he’d be a bad matchup for the undefeated Rakhmonov, boasting a 100% finish rate. The fighter says the Kazakh phenom wouldn’t do well against his pressure and a certain southpaw stance. Covington hasn’t fought after losing to then-champion and 170-pound kingpin Leon Edwards at UFC 296. As such, an interim title opportunity remains out of the possibility.
