UFC 310 suffered a major blow as welterweight champion Belal Muhammad pulled out of his title fight on 7 December. He was to square off against boogeyman Shavkat Rakhmonov. MMA insider Al Zullino and Benny P (@Bendaman2001, of Australia) first reported the rumor. Now, the Palestinian champ has given some insight into it.
He announced the news on Thursday by posting a video of himself in a hospital bed on Instagram. In the video, which included photos, Muhammad said he had “contracted a bone infection” in his foot. The Team Valle Flow Striking fighter won’t be able to do any physical activity for the next six weeks. He reiterated the matter on socials (IG and X):
Caught a bone infection in my foot .. had to put a picc line in my arm for iv antibiotics the next 6 weeks with no physical activity … Allahs plan is the best plan I’m sorry to everyone that were coming to see me Ill be back soon inshAllah
Belal Muhammad via X (@bullyb170)
UFC 310 takes shape on December 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Now that the Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) vs. Rakhmonov pay-per-view title doubleheader is moot, the brass is flurrying in for replacements. After initial rumors of the pullout, 205-pound champ Alex Pereira was a top name under consideration. However, Team Teixeira MMA & Fitness and Plinio Cruz have said they haven’t gotten any calls yet.
Caught a bone infection in my foot .. had to put a picc line in my arm for iv antibiotics the next 6 weeks with no physical activity … Allahs plan is the best plan I’m sorry to everyone that were coming to see me Ill be back soon inshAllah pic.twitter.com/xbXj2B8Szy
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) October 31, 2024
Belal Muhammad shared images of the bone infection in his foot that forced him to withdraw from his title fight at #UFC310 in December. pic.twitter.com/glhVdCHUUS
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 31, 2024
Muhammad had hoped for a quick turnaround following his stunning victory over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July. Meanwhile, unbeaten and with a 100 percent finish rate, ‘Nomad’ was to be his perfect challenge. It is unclear whether or not Rakhmonov will be staying on the card. However, the top contender posted on X that he’s open to fighting anyone for an interim title.
Shavkat Rakhmonov responds to Belal Muhammad pulling out
UFC 310 will take place on December 7th in Las Vegas. The event was to mark the first defense of the title for Belal Muhammad after an impressive showing in July. It would have been the first UFC championship fight for Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), who is undefeated in the UFC and riding a five-fight winning streak. Shavkat Rakhmonov hasn’t competed since December 2023, scoring a submission victory against Stephen Thompson at UFC 296.
There hasn’t been an official word on whether the Kazakh phenom will remain on the card or if the bout will happen at a later date. For now, though, Rakhmonov has some idea about it.
Wishing Belal a quick recovery. We’ll meet when you’re back at 100%. For now, I’m ready to take on any contender for the interim title at #UFC310
Shavkat Rakhmonov via X (@Rakhmonov1994)
Belal Muhammad shares some photos of the foot infection that forced him to withdraw from #UFC310.
I’m no doctor, but yeah, right call. 🤮 pic.twitter.com/xgV06ljeG4
— Danny Segura (@dannyseguratv) October 31, 2024
Wishing Belal a quick recovery. We’ll meet when you’re back at 100%. For now, I’m ready to take on any contender for the interim title at #UFC310
— Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov (@Rakhmonov1994) October 31, 2024
While “Nomad” Rakhmonov was getting his groove on with banters as a title challenger, he wished his best to Muhammad. Now, competition is presenting itself out of the woodwork. According to Rueben Carter (@realruebenking), feature MMA reporter for @cbsnews, @yahoosports, et al., Kamaru Usman is a shoo-in for an interim title.
Undefeated 170-pound standout Ian Machado Garry, in the 8-0 club also reposted his callout to the Kazakh. There are a few other names in the ring as well.
BREAKING NEWS 🚨
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Kamaru Usman for the interim Welterweight championship is in the works for #UFC310 after it was announced Belal Muhammad has pulled out of the fight. pic.twitter.com/iWjAWGE56F
— Rueben Carter 🥇 (@realruebenking) October 31, 2024
🚨| Ian Machado Garry has reshared this video where he calls for a fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov following Ralhmonov’s call for an interim title fight at #UFC310. 👀🏆 pic.twitter.com/lqBR8w2m78
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) October 31, 2024
Meanwhile, with the current change, the UFC 310 pay-per-view (PPV) lineup now includes:
— Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – for the flyweight title
— Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov, shifting from UFC 308
— Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling, in a rebooking of its own
— Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
— Virna Jandiroba vs. TBA
— Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
— Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
— Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque, also a rebooking of its own
— Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van
— Martin Buday vs. Rizvan Kuniev
— Bryan Battle vs. Randy Brown
— Lukasz Brzeski vs. Tallison Teixeira
