Muhammad Withdrawal Set Up Rakhmonov-Garry Bout
Belal Muhammad was scheduled to defend his welterweight title against Shavkat Rakhmonov in December 2024, but a bone infection in his foot forced him to withdraw. Rakhmonov stayed on the card and beat Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision, 48–47 on all three judges’ scorecards, in a No. 1 contender bout. See the official scorecards.
The proposed title fight never took place. Muhammad later lost the welterweight championship to Jack Della Maddalena by unanimous decision on May 10, 2025; see theofficial scorecards.
Rakhmonov has not fought since the Garry bout. In a September 2026 interview, he said he entered that fight with serious knee injuries, including a torn ACL and meniscus. MMA Fighting reported that he remained uncertain when—or whether—he would return.
The replacement fight’s competitive significance
Rakhmonov arrived at UFC 310 with eighteen wins from eighteen professional appearances, all by stoppage. His previous UFC victories included submissions of Geoff Neal and Stephen Thompson in 2023. The Garry bout was therefore significant even without the championship: it tested whether he could preserve that unbeaten record against another undefeated contender.
Garry had entered at 15–0 and had recently defeated Neil Magny, Neal and Michael Page. The revised five-round matchup paired two fighters with strong recent results, rather than simply giving Rakhmonov an opponent to keep his place on the event. The UFC’s pre-fight profile documents the background to Garry accepting the contest.
The unanimous decision moved Rakhmonov to 19–0 while ending his run of finishing every opponent. It also handed Garry his first professional defeat. Those outcomes explain why the replacement fight remained an important welterweight result, even though the originally announced Muhammad title defense never happened. The later championship change belongs to a separate bout and should not be read as a result between Muhammad and Rakhmonov.
