The highly anticipated UFC Welterweight title fight between champion Belal Muhammad and Shavkat Rakhmonov could take place on May 10th for UFC 315. This event marks the UFC‘s return to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and will occur at the Bell Centre.
The Chicago native recently replied to a post to the UFC on X, where they announced the return of the UFC to Montreal:
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) February 8, 2025
There are many title fights rumoured for International Fight Week and other future PPV cards. One that hasn’t been officially announced up to this point is a Welterweight title fight between champion Belal Muhammad and undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov. Adding this fight to potentially headline a card in Canada will improve the perception of the event as a whole due to the hype behind this potential matchup, in addition to other Canadian fighters looking to secure a fight in their home country.
Muhammad and Rakhmonov were scheduled to fight in December at UFC 310 for the Welterweight title. However, Muhammad had to pull out due to a foot infection. Instead, Rakhmonov accepted a fight with rising star and then undefeated, Ian Machado Garry in a clash of undefeated contenders. Rakhmonov came into this fight with an 18-0 record, while Machado Garry came into this fight with a 15-0 record. Despite a scare in the fifth round, Rakhmonov managed to control the majority of the fight and secure a unanimous decision victory, giving Machado Garry his first loss in his professional MMA career. Despite the victory, this marks the first time anyone has ever brought Rakhmonov to the scorecards.
The Champion Muhammad’s last fight was where he was crowned champion. In July, he pulled off a dominant performance against then-champion Leon Edwards in his home country of England, who hadn’t lost a fight in eight and a half years at the time.
Subscribe
