Belal Muhammad will make the first defense of his welterweight title on Dec. 7 in the main event of UFC 310 when he faces the unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov on a card featuring two title fights and the return of Nick Diaz. UFC CEO/President Dana White made the announcement Saturday on social media.
Muhammad captured the title by defeating Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July to extend his unbeaten streak to 11 bouts. In Rakhmonov, though, he'll face a versatile finisher who is unbeaten and has finished all 18 of his bouts. He is 18-0 overall with 10 submissions and eight knockouts. In the UFC, Rakhmonov is 6-0 with five submissions and a TKO.
In the co-main event, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will defend his belt against former Rizin bantamweight champion Kai Asakura. Askaura will be making his UFC debut.
Breaking news!!!#UFC310: Muhammad vs Rakhmonov is LIVE December 7th from Las Vegas! pic.twitter.com/woLuZObLXV
— danawhite (@danawhite) October 12, 2024
He signed with the UFC in June after compiling a 21-4 record with 13 knockouts and three submissions. Askaura defeated former Bellator bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta in his most recent fight.
"Listen to me everybody: Nobody wanted to fight him," White said of Asakura in the video. "But Pantoja is an absolute bad ass and agreed to the fight."
White also announced that the popular Nick Diaz will return to action when he faces Vicente Luque, a bout that was originally scheduled to be held in August in Saudi Arabia. Diaz has only fought once in nine years, a TKO loss in 2021 to Robbie Lawler.
Also on the card is a heavyweight bout between second-ranked Ciryl Gane, a former interim champion, and No. 3 Alexander Volkov.