Shavkat Rakhmonov wants UFC 310 interim title fight, believes Kamaru Usman is 'worthy opponent'

UFC's year-end pay-per-view event is short one title fight after Belal Muhammad's recent bone infection forced him out of his first UFC welterweight title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Welterweight gold was on track to close out the MMA calendar for two straight years until Muhammad's injury. The challenger on deck, Rakhmonov, hasn't fought since UFC 296 last December, but his second-round rear-naked choke of Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson ultimately led to this would-be first career title shot. Rakhmonov, 30, heard about Muhammad's injury roughly a week before the champion's reveal. "The Nomad" now awaits a replacement opponent with hopes to remain atop UFC 310 on Dec. 7.

Ideally, a fight on the card would still involve a title for Kazakhstan's finest.

"I believe there is a worthy opponent available. I'm ready to save the card if it's for the interim belt," Rakhmonov said Monday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show." I believe [Kamaru] Usman is the worthy opponent who is going to be ready to jump in to face me.

"Obviously, I don't know if it's going to happen or not. I just know I'm worthy and deserve the chance for the interim belt because we don't know when Belal is going to be back. This kind of injury, infection, they might say six weeks but look at JDM (Jack Della Maddalena), it's taken him a lot longer."

Negotiations are ongoing for Rakhmonov as UFC 309 rounds the corner before the Las Vegas year-closing showcase that is UFC 310. Muhammad bantered back and forth with both Rakhmonov and the former champion Usman when weighing his options before UFC 310 was booked, making cases for either option to serve as his first title defense. Now, they have the opportunity to settle it in the Octagon.

Rakhmonov sees this scenario potentially as a positive in the end as well. Though he isn't sure whether he'll still want to fight without an interim title on the line, Rakhmonov believes the Usman booking would be a wise move from all perspectives.

"It's good for Belal, too. It's only going to make the fight bigger," Rakhmonov said. "Champ vs. champ whenever Belal is ready. Obviously, after I secure the interim title, I'm going to fight him. First quarter of next year I believe is already scheduled and taken so he cannot come back soon, anyway.

"I don't know yet [if I would fight without the interim title available]. I want to compete and I want to fight. I'm not ready to make a decision yet. We'll see.

"I had my problems at the beginning of the year [with injuries] and now I'm ready to come back," he added. "It was for a title fight and I was excited. Right now it's off the table, but I still believe I deserve the title fight even if it's not going to be against Belal. Like I said, it's going to make our fight even bigger. Two champs, and it's not going to give an option to Belal to run away from this fight."

Arguing for a Rakhmonov title shot isn't something many are up in arms about. The undefeated 18-0 contender has been sensational, with all his fights ending by finish (10 submissions, eight knockouts). For some, a debate was present before Muhammad challenged former champ Leon Edwards that Rahmonov deserved it instead. Then we got to UFC 300 season and rumors indicated some serious traction.

But that's all they were. Rumors.

Alex Pereira did Alex Pereira things, starting his incredible 2024 run by stepping into UFC 300's main event alongside Jamahal Hill on the historic night. A handful of other title matchups were apparently in the mix, though — one of which was an Edwards title defense against Rakhmonov. However, that was never something that reached Rakhmonov's plate.

"I never was offered the fight against Leon for UFC 300," Rakhmonov said. "So, I couldn't refuse this fight because I was never offered it.

"I had some injuries and I took care of it. Even though I was injured, I never got offered this fight. I'm ready, I'm training, I want to fight and fight for the belt. Just waiting to hear back from the UFC."

The division reached its expected destination after all the speculation. At UFC 304 this past July, redemption belonged to Muhammad, who won a unanimous decision over Edwards to claim the belt.

Muhammad entered the rematch as a comfortable underdog, but defied the odds to become one of the few successful fighters at age 35 or older to win a UFC title tilt. Considering the run that Edwards had been on, Rakhmonov was relatively stunned to see the performance of the now-champion.

"Yes, actually I was surprised that Belal won that fight that way," Rakhmonov said. "Leon didn't look like himself. Belal just had his way with him. Took him down whenever he wanted. It was kind of weird. I don't know what caused that. Maybe the fight time, it was early in the morning, or something else.

"Belal did a good job and he deserved to win the belt. Right now, his job is to defend his belt and not run away, and pull out with some minor injuries."

Withdrawals haven't been common for Muhammad in his 27-fight career (24-3). This marks only the second time Muhammad has been injured and canceled a fight in his UFC run. His first came in 2018 ahead of a matchup against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos that never materialized.

But the champion is winning no sympathy from his top contender, Rakhmonov. Despite the grotesque nature of the infection, Rakhmonov believes it could have been fought through.

"I think he was able to fight on Dec. 7, but he wasn't sure and is being extra careful," Rakhmonov said. "I was just envisioning myself getting the win and it doesn't matter how or which way. Belal is a good opponent, but I believe I can work with him in any field. I can counter him, I can pressure him, I just only see my [hand] getting raised in a fight against him.

"I don't believe it's going to be six weeks [to recover], to be honest. I believe Jack Della [had] the same problem with infection and he's still not back. It can take a while.

"Belal doesn't need to be greedy," he concluded. "If I become interim champ, he's still going to have a belt too. Champ vs. champ, bigger fight."

Regardless of how we get to Muhammad vs. Rakhmonov, the challenger is on board with winning one more fight to magnify the matchup. It's now about finding that willing dance partner to make that happen.

Outside of Usman — who has lost three straight — the freshest contender on a winning streak like Rakhmonov is Ireland's Ian Machado Garry. However, the undefeated 15-0 "Future" has drawn Joaquin Buckley for UFC Tampa's headliner to close UFC's 2024 calendar on Dec. 14.

Rakhmonov and Garry have a slight history, having trained together in the past. If that matchup develops depending on upcoming results, Rakhmonov is confident their past encounters will translate to competition. Regarding Usman, he believes it's all on the promotion to make it happen.

"I'm ready if it's going to be [Garry] after he wins his fight," Rakhmonov said. "If it's a date that's good for both of us, we can do it, you know? If he wants to try and take my 0, he can try, but I know the same thing's going to happen that's happened in training. I'm just going to keep it the same way and I'm pretty confident that I'm going to beat him.

"It's just training. I don't want to praise myself too much, but I felt comfortable whether its striking or ground. I felt comfortable and in control. So, I'm pretty confident in this matchup.

"I think the best option now is Usman," he continued. "We're both close in the ranking, he's a former champ. I believe he's not against this matchup. I think it's going to be a good matchup. We're both ready for this day, we're both free, and both of us, we're just waiting for the UFC to make a decision about the interim belt."