Usman Claims UFC 310 'Too Early' For Shavkat Fight

11/14/2024 10:38 AM

The UFC 310 pay-per-view (PPV) event is less than a month away and still does not have a five-round main event after current welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad, withdrew from the Las Vegas fight card to recover from a nasty infection.

There was talk of having former 170-pound titleholder, Kamaru Usman, step in to battle undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov; however, "The Nigerian Nightmare" has passed on that opportunity because Dec. 7 is "too early" to fight.

"To be honest, it's a fight that I've looked at and I know it's definitely a very, very winnable fight and I know that I can, of all people, go out there and expose what hasn't been exposed in a young, hungry, streaky guy in Shavkat Rakhmonov," Usman said on Pound 4 Pound. "He's very talented, he's very, very good but I do see the holes and I think that I can exploit that when that time is right but December 7 might be a little too early for that time."

Muhammad insists his recovery timeline will only take about six weeks and rejected talk of an interim title in his absence. Regardless of when and where "Remember the Name" returns, matchmakers still have to fill the UFC 310 headliner, which remains vacant.