Former UFC welterweight champion flirted with stepping in for injured champ Belal Muhammad and facing Shavkat Rahkmonov in the UFC 310 main event on December 7, but it’s not happening.
Usman spoke on the latest episode of his Pound for Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo about potentially stepping up for the Rahkmonov fight. Usman said he believes the fight is “very winnable,” but feels December 7 might be too soon for him to return and take on that challenge.
Here is a look at the episode; the segment takes place in the final two minutes of the video.
Usman, 37, hasn’t fought since October 2023, when he stepped in on short notice and lost a majority decision to Khamzat Chimaev. He’d lost back-to-back fights against Leon Edwards before the loss to Chimaev.
Because Usman knows his next run in the UFC will likely be his last, it makes sense for him to take his time to ensure he is at his best when he climbs back into the Octagon. Rahkmonov is one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC. The 30-year-old from Uzbekistan is 18-0 and has finished every opponent he’s faced. Rahkmonov’s game is very well-rounded.
He has eight wins by TKO/KO and ten by submission. Usman will likely need a full camp to be at his best, and while it may be a bummer for some fans to see the former champion remove himself from consideration, it was the wise thing to do. Meanwhile, Rahkmonov still needs an opponent and UFC 310 still needs a suitable main event.
If the UFC cannot find a replacement for Muhammad and Rahkmonov falls off the card, the flyweight championship between Alexandre Pantoja and Japanese newcomer Kai Asakura would be the headliner.
The Pantoja-Asakura fight could be excellent, but the UFC hasn’t had its best PPV buy totals when flyweights headline the card. Because of that, it makes sense to think they will continue to hunt for an opponent to step in for Muhammad. At this point, the most logical matchups for Rahkmonov would be Sean Brady or Jack Della Maddalena.
Still, neither of those names–especially removed from a title opportunity figures to move the needle. We’ll have to wait and see what direction the UFC goes with the main event for the final PPV of 2024.
As it is, here is a look at the confirmed card for UFC 310 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
- (c) Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – Men’s UFC Flyweight Championship
- Shavkhat Rahkmonov vs. ??? – Welterweight
- Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov – Heavyweight
- Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling – Featherweight
- Vicente Luque vs. Nick Diaz – Welterweight
- Anthony Smith vs. Dominick Reyes – Light Heavyweight
- Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper – Lightweight
- Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin – Welterweight
- Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van – Men’s Flyweight
- Tallison Teixeira vs. Łukasz Brzeski – Heavyweight
- Randy Brown vs. Bryan Battle – Welterweight
- Rizvan Kuniev vs. Martin Buday – Heavyweight
- Doo Ho Choi vs. Nate Landwehr – Featherweight
