After winning the UFC welterweight title from Leon Edwards in July, Belal Muhammad has been itching to defend his belt. Well, at UFC 310, he will face Shavkat Rakhmonov—the undefeated Kazakh fighter, who has been calling out the champion for a while. This is probably going to be the toughest fight for Muhammad. Why?

Rakhmonov boasts an 18-0 record, with eight KO/TKO wins and ten submissions. The fact that he has not let even one fight fall to a decision says a lot about his mentality. On the other hand, ‘Remember the Name’ has had as many as 18 wins via decisions, one through submission and five through KO/TKO. This matchup will push him to his limits, and that is something Muhammad is aware of. But the good thing is that the champion is disciplined and aims to put every ounce of it into his training leading up to UFC 310. Joe Rogan can vouch for this.

The UFC commentator has had the opportunity of seeing ‘Bully B’ grow as a fighter and even had him on his ‘JRE MMA Show’ (episode #162). Through his interactions with the fighter, Rogan knows how seriously he takes his job. “He’s done camp in Ramadan. You know, you can’t eat or drink anything during the daylight hours of Ramadan. So, he would have to get up in the morning while it’s dark out, have a morning breakfast, go to training, and not eat anything, and no water,” Rogan opined about Muhammad in JRE episode #2212.

We are sure Belal Muhammad is just as motivated as his opponent, but ahead of his December fight, he has been cautioned. On ESPN MMA’s UFC 310 preview, fighter-turned-analyst Alan Jouban stated, “Belal has proven over and time and time again why he deserved the championship fight. He got the championship fight, and he deserved and he showed why he is the champion. I mean, he looked phenomenal against Leon Edwards… Shavkat Rakhmonov, though. This guy does everything well. So this is going to be, I think, Belal’s toughest test to date.”

It is difficult to disagree with Jouban. The Kazakh has barely ever let any fight extend beyond two rounds. It looks like Belal Muhammad could run the risk of getting knocked out or submitted if he doesn’t already have a plan to deal with his opponent’s aggressiveness.

However, Michael Chiesa, who was also a part of the discussion on ESPN MMA, was quick to point out that the first Palestinian UFC champion is not just a good grappler but also proved himself against some of the biggest names in the welterweight division. This includes Demian Maia (UFC 263), Stephen Thompson (UFC Fight Night 199), Sean Brady (UFC 280), and also Gilbert Burns (UFC 288). He defeated every single one of them and has remained undefeated since 2019.

Is everyone dismissing Belal Muhammad once again?

When Dana White announced Muhammad versus Rakhmonov on Instagram, fight fans filled the comment section with love for the latter. This seems to be a pattern with Muhammad: People dismissing him.

Even Ilia Topuria disregarded him and said, “Belal, he is a fake champion. He’s a fake. I think right now in the welterweight division, the one who will come back and take the belt again is Kamaru Usman, in my opinion. Easy work for Usman.” Only time will confirm or dispel this.

Remember how Muhammad was an underdog going into the UFC 304 fight with Edwards? The fact that most people couldn’t envision him as the champion, yet the 36-year-old got away with a unanimous decision win, was surprising. Belal also beat the discouraging mammoth stat which said fighters aged 35 or above had lost almost 30 times in UFC title fights against the odd 2 or 3 wins. Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski, and Dustin Poirier are among the names that joined the list on the losing side of this stat in 2024.

We wonder if the ethnic Palestinian can get away with something similar at UFC 310, considering ‘Nomad’ has great grappling, striking, and cardio. But what does Muhammad have to say about his upcoming fight? “Goat is the goal. See you soon #ANDSTILL #InShaAllah,” he wrote on X the same day his fight was officially announced. On the other hand, the 29-year-old fighter has been taking online digs at the welterweight champion. Now that the fight is official, things only get more interesting.

While Belal Muhammad’s title is on the line, so is Shavkat Rakhmonov’s undefeated record. Who do you think will win? Let us know in the comments below.