Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad’s first title defense will be against unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov as part of a UFC championship doubleheader on Dec. 7 in Las Vegas.
UFC 310 at T-Mobile Arena also will feature in the co-main event Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil defending his flyweight title against Japan’s Kai Asakura, UFC announced on social media on Saturday.
Muhammad (24-3, 1 no contest) had unseated 170-pound champion Leon Edwards by unanimous decision on July 27 at UFC 304 in Manchester, England. It was a rematch of a no contest on March 13, 2021 when Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye.
The 36-year-old Muhammad is facing a younger fighter with a 100 percent finishing rate in 29-yearold Rakhmonov (18-0) of Kazakhstan. With eight knockouts and 10 submission victories, Rakhmonov will be fighting about a year since his last bout, a Dec. 15, 2023 win by submission over Stephen Thompson.
Pantoja (28-5) has won six consecutive fights. The 34-year-old is making his third title defense against a UFC newcomer in Asakura, 30, who signed in June after a successful run with Rizin, where he was a two-time bantamweight champion at 21-4.
Undercard bouts include heavyweights Ciryl Gane against Alexander Volkov, and the return of American Nick Diaz, 41, against Brazil’s Vicente Luque (22-10-1), which was rescheduled from Aug. 3. Diaz (26-10, two NC) has not fought since losing by stoppage to Robbie Lawler on Sept. 25, 2021. Luque, 32, is 1-3 is his last four bouts.
–Field Level Media
