Belal Muhammad (24-3-0, 1 NC) is about to make his first defence of Welterweight gold as he prepares to face Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0-0) at UFC 310 on December 7 in Las Vegas. UFC president Dana White confirmed the cardboard headliner on X in a stacked card that includes one other title bout amongst a number of intriguing contests. See beneath:
In what was a suffocating show to dethrone former champion Leon Edwards at UFC 304, ‘Keep in mind the Identify’ faces one other stern check in Rakhmonov, whose well-rounded sport might show an actual risk in Muhammad’s first defence.
Rakhmonov’s Rise Within the UFC
On October 24, 2020, ‘Nomad’ grew to become the primary fighter to signal with the UFC out of Kazakhstan, debuting towards the skilled Alex Oliveira. The Kazakhstan native impressed instantly, dispatching the Brazilian with a first-round submission.
After submitting Michel Prazeres in his second bout, 29-year-old Rakhmonov defeated Carlston Harris and Neil Magny – two victories that earned consecutive ‘Efficiency of the Night time’ bonuses.
Undoubtedly, Rakhmonov’s greatest check got here as a back-and-forth slugfest towards Geoff Neal. The American challenged Rakhmonov, even rocking his opponent within the third. Nonetheless, ‘Nomad’ recovered to complete his opponent with a brutal standing rear-naked choke in a memorable contest that gained a ‘Struggle of the Night time’ bonus.
By this stage, high contender Rakhmnov was beginning to be thought of a darkish horse within the UFC’s 170-pound division by specialists and followers alike. At UFC 296, one of many organisation’s most expert and technical strikers in, veteran Stephen Thompson, was tasked with toppling the rise of the Khazakh star.
The story remained the identical for Rakhmonov’s opponents as he stifled Wonderboy’s placing, showcasing his arsenal’s versatility. The American succumbed to one more submission end from the undefeated fighter within the second spherical, which ultimately secured him a shot at UFC gold.
A Dominant Preventing Type
With an undefeated MMA document of 18-0 and a 100% end price, Rakhmanov’s balanced combating model has clearly helped him surge into Welterweight title competition.
Sambo—a fight model mastered by Russian fighters Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makachev—has confirmed its effectiveness and compatibility in MMA, evident within the champions it has produced.
With Soviet origins, the trendy martial artwork of sambo strongly emphasizes grappling and incorporates components of wrestling and judo.
The welterweight title contender has been in a position to overwhelm his opponents by way of aggressive, efficient grappling blended with an array of placing. Rakhmonov’s front-foot model pressures his opponents into grappling exchanges the place the Kazakh has proven actual efficiency over his UFC tenure.
Of his six fights within the UFC, the undefeated welterweight has earned 5 victories by submission with one KO/TKO coming towards Harris – a spectacular spinning head kick adopted up by vicious floor and pound.
Throughout 18 skilled MMA fights, ‘Nomad’s’ strategies of victory have been pretty balanced, securing eight wins by KO/TKO and 10 by submission. His versatile skillset is definitely one that can put Muhammad to the check on an evening when each fighters might want to carry out at their peak.
Wanting Ahead To UFC 310
Regardless of the obvious talent on the disposal of his opponent, it should not be missed that Muhammad is the champion for a purpose and has confirmed to be no pushover within the grappling division in his rise to the highest.
Whereas some followers might have felt Edwards was lower than commonplace on the night time, the 36-year-old placed on a wrestling clinic to safe the unanimous determination regardless of the criticism his combating model has obtained from followers and fighters alike.
A latest on-line spat with Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria noticed ‘El Matador’ criticise Muhammad’s wrestle-heavy method, which has resulted in a scarcity of finishes in his profession.
Regardless of these feedback, Muhammad boasts notable names on their resume, together with Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady and Vicente Luque. Throughout 19 fights within the UFC, ‘Keep in mind the Identify’ has 15 wins, of which 12 have come by determination.
One other fascinating level to determine in weighing up this welterweight title matchup is that ‘Keep in mind the Identify’ switched up coaching camps in favour of coaching with ‘The Eagle’ Nurmagomedov in preparation for his combat with Edwards. It will also be famous that the 2 share the identical supervisor, Ali Abdelaziz, which enabled the connection and arguably proved to have elevated Muhammad’s sport in reaching the summit of the 170-pound division.
Alternatively, the Kazakhstan fighter has but to go the gap in any of his UFC contests to this point resulting from his streak of ending fights. Rakhmonov’s means to carry his personal in grappling whereas posing a risk on the toes may very well be the deciding think about slicing Muhammad’s reign quick and increasing his spectacular unbeaten streak by securing welterweight gold at UFC 310.
