Even though the final show of the year is only three weeks away, we still don’t know who will take part in the main event of UFC 310 in Las Vegas on December 7.
The original main event was supposed to be welterweight champion Belal Muhammad facing undefeated bogeyman Shavkat Rakhmonov. However, Remember the Name unfortunately had to withdraw from that title match due to a bone injury in his foot.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Kamaru Usman on whether he will fight Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310
Following Muhammad’s withdrawal from UFC 310, a whole host of top contenders have raised their hands as potential late replacement challengers for the undefeated Kazakh ‘Nomad’.
Jarry’s Ian Machado and Joaquin Buckley were among the first to put their names in the hat, only for the promotion to book the two contenders against each other at UFC Tampa on December 14.
Then came former UFC welterweight champion and No. 2 contender Kamaru Usman, who had just told Buckley to “take a number and get in line” regarding his title call.
However, just a week after claiming he would be ready to step in against Rakhmonov, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ is now reviewing his availability.
“You see where I am now – doing some work, getting ready if I get that call [from the UFC]”, Usman stated on the latest episode of the Pound-4-pound podcast, before admitting that he probably won’t be ready to fight on December 7.
“But to be honest, I look at this fight and I know it’s definitely a winnable fight. I know that I, of all people, can go out there and uncover what hasn’t been exposed in an exciting, exciting young man in Shavkat Rakhmonov.
“He’s very talented, he’s very good but I see the holes and I think I can exploit that when the time is right… but December 7th might be too early for that time.”
These comments didn’t go down too well with UFC fans, especially since they come just one week after Usman previously claimed he “isn’t ashamed of any of it.”
“The UFC knows who to call when this situation happens, and if they call me, I’ll answer the call… I’m not shy about any of that. I did it on six days’ notice. I did it on eight days’ notice… Hello “It was only done in two weeks, but that’s how it is.”
11 fights have been confirmed for UFC 310, including the first fight for flyweight gold.
As many fans have pointed out on
As of November 14, a total of 11 fights have been confirmed for this year’s final show, with former RIZIN bantamweight champion and promotional newcomer Kai Asakura set to face Alexander Pantoja for the flyweight title.
Alexander Pantoja vs. Kai Asakuraseril Gane vs. Alexander VolkovVicente Luque vs. Nick Diazmovsar Evloev vs. Aljamin SterlingGrande Brown vs. Brian BattleMichael Chiesa vs. Max GriffinAnthony Smith vs. Dominic Riestalison Teixeira vs. Lukas Przyskent Landauer vs. Dohu Chukudi Durden vs. Joshua Van Klay Guida vs. Chase Huber
Tapology also reports that Rizvan Kuniev vs Martin Buday has been added to the preliminary card, but that fight has not been officially confirmed by the UFC.
UFC 310 airs live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, December 7.
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