Belal Muhammad Withdraws From UFC 310; What Happened Next
Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad withdrew from the December 7, 2024 event after a foot injury and bone infection, ending his planned title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov. The card went ahead in Las Vegas with a new flyweight title main event: Alexandre Pantoja submitted Kai Asakura in round two. Reuters’ event report covers the changes and results.
What changed before the event
Muhammad’s withdrawal left Rakhmonov without the title fight originally planned. Instead of being elevated to the headline bout, Rakhmonov fought Ian Machado Garry in a five-round co-main event. Rakhmonov won by unanimous decision, 48–47 on all three judges’ scorecards.
Event results
Pantoja retained the flyweight title by submitting Asakura with a rear-naked choke at 2:05 of the second round. In another featured heavyweight bout, Ciryl Gane defeated Alexander Volkov by split decision. The final card and results are recorded in the official event recap and official scorecards.
A Nick Diaz–Vicente Luque fight had also been listed on the card. Those were not the card’s final lineup. The published results show Pantoja–Asakura as the main event, with Rakhmonov–Garry as the co-main.
For more coverage, visit the MMA section.
Sources
- Reuters: Muhammad’s withdrawal and event outcomes
- Official event recap and main-card results
- Official judges’ scorecards
