Champ Belal Muhammad injured, out of UFC 310 title fight; Shavkhat Rakhmonov reacts

(This story was updated to add new information.)

UFC 310 has taken a major hit as welterweight champion Belal Muhammad is out of his Dec. 7 title fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Muhammad announced the news Thursday, posting a video of himself on Instagram in which he’s laying in a hospital bed. Muhammad said he “caught a bone infection” in his foot and also included photos. He can’t perform physical activity for the next six weeks.

Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) vs. Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) was slated to headline UFC 310 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+). Benny P on X was first to report Muhammad was out before the champ’s announcement.

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It’s unclear if Rakhmonov will stay on the card, but the top contender posted on X that he’s open to fighting anyone for an interim title.

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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

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

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Undefeated in his pro MMA career, Rakhmonov boasts a 100 percent finish rate. He most recently submitted former title challenger Stephen Thompson in the second round at UFC 296 in December.

With the change, the current UFC 310 lineup includes:

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• Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – for 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 on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.