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Belal Muhammad has pulled out of Shavkat Rakhmonov's title fight

Belal Muhammad has pulled out of Shavkat Rakhmonov's title fight

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

UFC 310 has suffered a major blow as welterweight champion Belal Muhammad pulled out of his title fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov on December 7th.

Muhammad announced the news on Thursday, posting a video of himself lying in a hospital bed on Instagram. Muhammad said he suffered a “bone infection” in his foot and also attached photos. He will not be able to do any physical activity for the next six weeks.

Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) vs. Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) was scheduled to headline UFC 310 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+). Benny P up

It's unclear whether Rakhmonov will remain on the card, but the top contender posted on X that he's willing to fight anyone for an interim title.

Muhammad was looking to make a relatively quick turnaround after securing the welterweight title with an impressive win over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July. Muhammad is undefeated in his last 11 fights.

Rakhmonov is undefeated in his professional MMA career and has a 100 percent success rate. He most recently defeated former title challenger Stephen Thompson in the second round at UFC 296 in December.

With the change, the current UFC 310 lineup includes:

  • Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – for the flyweight title
  • Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
  • Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
  • Virna Jandiroba vs. TBA
  • Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
  • Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
  • Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque
  • Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van
  • Martin Buday vs. Rizvan Kuniev
  • Bryan Battle vs. Randy Brown
  • Lukasz Brzeski vs Tallison Teixeira

For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 310 event hub.

Be sure to visit MMA Junkie's Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and other content with mixed martial arts fans.

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