This Saturday in the UFC 310 co-main event, Shavkat Rakhmonov cemented himself as the number one contender in the welterweight division, setting up a fight with the champion, Belal Muhammad.
Originally, the UFC 310 main event was scheduled between Belal Muhammad and Shavkat Rakhmonov, but after Muhammad suffered a broken toe and subsequent bone infection, the fight was canceled.
‘The Nomad’ stayed on the card, taking on fellow undefeated contender, Ian Machado Garry, in a number one contender fight. Rakhmonov went on to win the fight via unanimous decision, once again setting up a fight between the Kazakh and ‘Remember The Name’.
Following Rakhmonov’s hard-fought five-round decision, during his Octagon interview with Joe Rogan, he called for them to bring the champion into the Octagon for them to face off. Muhammad, who was sat on the front row enjoying the fights, got up and attempted to make his way to the cage to give Rakhmonov what he wanted.
However, initially, the welterweight champion was blocked by security and they wouldn’t let him over the barrier that separates the fans from the cage. This led to a hilarious response from Rogan, who claimed that the ‘security don’t know he’s the world champion’, which prompted laughter from the audience.
Rogan wasn’t the only one who found the situation amusing as UFC star Conor McGregor also shared his reaction to security denying Muhammad access to the cage. McGregor remarked, “Ha Ha! The security doesn’t know he’s the champ! The state of this c**. The security doesn’t know he’s the champ, I’m not surprised mothercker. He is an ashole of a thing. Shut your mouth you little dope, you barely got into the ring! ‘Who the fck is that guy?’ the security said,” on X.
After finally getting the face-off he and Shavkat desired, Muhammad exited the cage knowing who he will fight next in his first title defense. Hours later, the 36-year-old champion reacted to Rogan and McGregor’s trolling.
“Yeah, I don’t know, they thought I was gonna do something crazy like hopping over, like Merab (Dvalishvili),” Muhammad told the Schmo.
He added, “No, he called me, bro! If someone calls me into the cage, I’m gonna go in there, right? I don’t think (the security) heard it, they didn’t realize what was going on. They thought I was going in to attack him, I’m just like, bro, chill.”
Despite an injury that had him considering amputating his toe, Muhammad is optimistic that his fight against the undefeated Rakhmonov will take place in the first quarter of next year.
