Shavkat Rakhmonov calls to fight Kamaru Usman for interim title at UFC 310

Shavkat Rakhmonov is hoping to remain on UFC 310 and wants to fight for the interim title.

Rakhmonov was supposed to headline UFC 310 against Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title but the champ suffered an injury that forced him to withdraw. Although Rakhmonov could wait for the title shot, he wants to remain active and calls to fight Kamaru Usman for the interim title.

Shavkat Rakhmonov says he would like to fight Usman for an interim title at UFC 310.

His manager is asked if there are any talks of this happening.#HelwaniShow pic.twitter.com/IR9fb006Rf

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) November 4, 2024

“I believe there is a worthy opponent available. I’m ready to save the card, too if it’s for the interim title. I believe Usman is the worthy opponent who’s also probably ready to jump in and face him,” Rakhmonov said to Ariel Helwani.

Rakhmonov’s manager then said there are negotiations ongoing to keep him on UFC 310 in an interim title fight. He also believes Usman has been offered the fight and is the opponent that makes the most sense.

Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0) is coming off a submission win over Stephen Thompson last December. Rakhmonov is 6-0 in the UFC and has won all of his fights by stoppage.

Kamaru Usman (20-4) is on a three-fight losing streak. He’s coming off a majority decision loss to Robert Whittaker on short notice at middleweight. Before that, Usman lost back-to-back fights to Leon Edwards to lose his welterweight title.

Belal Muhammad questions Shavkat Rakhmonov’s call for UFC 310 interim title fight

Although Shavkat Rakhmonov has been calling for an interim title fight, Belal Muhammad doesn’t understand why.

Muhammad says he just won the title and thinks Rakhmonov can wait for when he’s healthy for the title shot.

“I could see them trying to do something with Shavkat, but he’s calling for an interim title fight,” Muhammad said on “Remember the Show.” “It’s like, interim title fight? Bro, it’s six weeks, not six months that I’m off. But even for myself, if they wanted to do that just to make it a main event. I mean, I don’t really care about it if they want to make an interim title fight regardless, because they know who has the real belt. So for me, I know who my next opponent is going to be.”

Whether or not the UFC will make an interim welterweight title at UFC 310 is uncertain.