Kamaru Usman’s path to title resurgence will probably go through the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov in the main event of UFC 310. The T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas card, of course, was set to be headlined by a welterweight title clash between newly-minted champion Belal Muhammad and the Kazakh phenom.

However, ‘Bully B’ had to pull out following a bone infection on his toe. ‘Nomad’ had floated the idea of an interim title clash against a top-ranked 170-pounder as a replacement. And that may very well turn out to be the case. After all, Usman has posted a picture of him training along with a cryptic caption. “Troublemaker! I soon come😏👊🏿,” Usman wrote on his Instagram account.

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, of course, hasn’t fought at welterweight since early 2023 and is 0-3 in his last three outings, including a middleweight clash against Khamzat Chimaev last November. This is why some are surprised that the UFC may be considering putting him in an interim title clash given his recent record and lack of activity at 170lbs.

On the other hand, Kamaru Usman is ranked #2 in the division. And there are very few fighters for the UFC to pick from in the top ten of the division since most of them are either injured or coming off losses. #5 ranked Sean Brady and #7 ranked Ian Garry are the only other viable fighters in the top ten who had a case to be made for an interim title clash, but to be fair, they probably haven’t done enough to be considered for a title bout. So by process of elimination, Usman has the best claim, which even Rakhmonov has acknowledged.

Shavkat Rakhmonov finds Kamaru Usman a ‘worthy opponent’

Shavkat Rakhmonov himself had thrown Kamaru Usman’s name in the hat, calling him a ‘worthy opponent’ a few days ago. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on the latter’s YouTube show, the Kazakh welterweight had reiterated his desire to have an interim title fight rather than wait for the UFC to reschedule his fight with Belal Muhammad to sometime next year.

“I believe there are worthy opponents available. I’m ready to save the card too if it’s for the interim belt. I believe Usman is a worthy opponent who’s going to be ready to jump in to face me,” he said.

Usman, for his part, has already proven he has no problem taking short-notice fights with undefeated phenoms and seems to have jumped on the opportunity to fight Rakhmonov. And what an opportunity it is for the Nigerian former champ. After all, he seems to be in a slump and some feel that he is approaching the end of his rope. If he can somehow slay the Kazakh, who has a hundred percent finish rate, or even give him a close fight, he would regain some of the aura among fans that he lost with his latest losses.

Of course, the final decision rests with the UFC and nothing could be said for certain until an official announcement is made. But there does seem to be movement towards Usman-Rakhmonov at UFC 310. What do you think about Kamaru Usman’s cryptic Instagram post?