Belal Muhammad doesn’t believe an interim title fight makes sense for Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 following the welterweight champ’s withdrawal, but he’d be OK with it if the UFC goes in that direction.
“Remember the Name” was set to defend his title for the first time against the undefeated Rakhmonov in the main event of the Dec. 7 pay-per-view event, but a bone infection on his toe scratched Muhammad from the bout. Muhammad was asked on his podcast with Jason Anik what he thinks the promotion will do to fill that empty slot, and whether it could be a fight between Rakhmonov and former champion Kamaru Usman.
“I can see them trying to do something with Shavkat,” Muhammad said on his podcast. “He’s calling for an interim title fight. Interim title fight, bro? It’s six weeks, not six months that I’m off. But even for myself, if they just want to do that just to make it a main event, I don’t really care about it if they want to make an interim title fight, regardless because they know who has the real belt.
“So for me, I know who my next opponent is going to be. If he wants to wait, it’s going to be us. If it’s going to end up being him, the only person that makes sense now would be Kamaru since Buckley and Garry are out… and I think [Jack Della Maddalena] is injured, so there’s really nobody else out there. … It really doesn’t [make sense], but it’s one of those — when you’re in the middle of camp, it’s hard, and when you’re like six weeks left, you’re locked in. So I can understand it for him that he’s like, ‘Bro, I want to fight.’”
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that the UFC is actively searching for a new main event, but as of now, nothing is set and “negotiations are ongoing.”
The news of Muhammad’s injury was a tough one for the new champ, and the MMA community as the fight between Muhammad and Rakhmonov was an anticipated one. Rakhmonov has finished all 18 of his opponents, while Muhammad is unbeaten in 11 fights, culminating with a championship win over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July.
Muhammad also revealed more details about why the infection spread the way that it did.
“They open it up and he’s like, ‘Bro, you had a broken toe, that’s what caused the infection to hit the bone much faster,’” Muhammad said. “He was able to fix the toe but the infection is still in there and [I] have to be on antibiotics for the next six weeks. And I’m shocked, I’m like, ‘Bro, are you kidding me right now?’ It was heartbreaking.”
