Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov, Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura headline UFC 310
Belal Muhammad makes the first defense of his welterweight title against Shavkat Rakhmonov in the main event at UFC 310 scheduled on Dec. 7 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The co-main event is also set as Alexandre Pantoja puts his flyweight title up for grabs against former RIZIN champion Kai Asakura, who is making his octagon debut with a chance to become champion in his first fight with the promotion.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the fights on Saturday.
Muhammad returns to action after a dominant performance over Leon Edwards to become champion back in July. It was a long time coming for Muhammad after he went on a 10 fight unbeaten streak before getting his opportunity at becoming champion.
As for Rakhmonov, the undefeated welterweight wrecking machine comes into the title fight with a perfect 18-0 record and a remarkable 100 percent finishing rate. Rakhmonov has actually only seen the third round two times during his career and now he’ll look to add Muhammad to his resume in an attempt at winning the UFC title.
Meanwhile, Pantoja returns for the third defense of his flyweight title after dispatching Steve Erceg back in May at UFC 301. He faces a unique challenge from Asakura, who comes into the fight with a 21-4 record, including 13 wins by knockout.
Asakura gets the rare opportunity to fight for a UFC title in his octagon debut after racking up notable wins over names like Kyoji Horiguchi, Manel Kape and Juan Archuleta while competing for RIZIN in Japan.
In addition to the main and co-main events, Nick Diaz also makes his return to action against Vicente Luque after the welterweights were originally scheduled to meet back in August but the matchup was delayed.
Also on the card, Ciryl Gane clashes with Alexander Volkov in a pivotal matchup in the UFC heavyweight division.
Previously announced matchups for UFC 310 include undefeated featherweight Movsar Evloev taking on Aljamain Sterling and Anthony Smith facing off with fellow former title challenger Dominick Reyes.
UFC 310 goes down Dec. 7 from Las vegas in the final pay-per-view card for the promotion in 2024.