As we approach UFC 309, word’s out that UFC 310 has found itself in a troubling position after the main event plans blew up. Belal Muhammad won’t be defending his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov, leaving the main card with just one title defense. It’s not always easy to fill for a fight, which was the main attraction of the whole PPV, so what does Dana White do? Well, the UFC CEO may not need to look any further.

Prior to Belal Muhammad’s pullout, the only other fight that got scrapped was Tatiana Suarez‘s fight against Virna Jandiroba. The loss of the welterweight title fight was a big blow, nonetheless, but there might be another welterweight clash just waiting to be booked, and Dana White might be interested in it as it involves two of his biggest stars – Colby Covington vs Dustin Poirier.

No need to find a replacement for Belal Muhammad

Following the news about Belal Muhammad, Shavkat Rakhmonov would reveal that he intends to wait and will stay available for UFC 310. He claimed to have been in negotiations with Dana White and Co., who are understandably in a tearing hurry for a replacement for the reigning champion. The Kazakh star even insisted on an interim title fight and issued a challenge to Kamaru Usman.

“I believe there is a worthy opponent available [and] I’m ready to save the card, too, if it’s for the interim title. I believe [Kamaru] Usman is the worthy opponent who’s also probably ready to jump in and face him,” Shavkat Rakhmonov told Ariel Helwani. Belal Muhammad had to respond to this interim title proposition, which he was strictly opposed to, claiming that he’d be back in “six weeks.”

“It’s like, interim title fight? Bro, it’s six weeks, not six months that I’m off,” Belal Muhammad said on the ‘Anik & Florian Podast’.

And the one other guy who wanted to jump in the Octagon against ‘Nomad’, Ian Garry, has now been booked against Joaquin Buckley for UFC Tampa. That leaves the spot open for Colby Covington and Dustin Poirier to swoop in to become one of the two featured fights on the year-ending PPV.

310 gets a co-main event with Colby Covington and Dustin Poirier

After Dustin Poirier’s failure to capture the undisputed gold at lightweight for the third time, albeit in an instant classic of a bout, talks of retirement came up. But, on the other hand, there were speculations of a 170 lbs. move as well. At the time, Vicente Luque offered to be the first welterweight opponent for the former lightweight interim champ, who had started out as a featherweight.

However, that proposition, as we’ll know, never materialized, and ‘The Silent Assassin’ is now paired up with a returning Nick Diaz on the same December card. Now, it’s understandable that a main event needs a title fight, and the only title fight at the moment is the flyweight bit between champion Alexandre Pantoja and debutant, former Rizin FF star Kai Asakura.

The 125-pound title fight must be headlining the pay-per-view, leaving the co-main event spot open, and that is where Dustin Poirier comes in, and his opponent? It’s another interim champ, Colby Covington. The duo has a shared history, and Covington’s recent comments about Dustin Poirier might be the final jibe that leads to a potential scrap inside the Octagon.

The bad blood between Colby Covington and Dustin Poirier will help in selling the PPV

Colby Covington and Dustin Poirier were former teammates but had a fallout after several undisclosed disagreements. ‘Chaos’ even claimed that ‘The Diamond’ contributed to his exit from the American Top Team. That led the 36-year-old to call him out after his interim title fight win, but Poirier didn’t oblige. Moreover, Covington would launch a serious rant on Poirier, claiming that he’s not the same guy on and off camera.

“They’ve wanted that for many pay-per-views now, for a long time. This feud goes way back. You know, he (Poirier) had a part in getting me kicked out of the old gym, and, you know, he’s just a little crybaby with feelings,” Colby Covington stated on the ‘Submission Radio’ podcast. “Then all the things he said, ‘Oh, it’s on sight when I see you,’ he made all these fake accusations and lies about me, saying I’m a bad person, this and that. No, dude, I’m not a bad person; you’re a bad person. You pretend to be a good person on camera, but you’re actually a piece of sh-t off camera.”

One definite thing between Dustin Poirier and Colby Covington is these two stars are bona fide main-eventers. Both are highly accomplished former interim champions who possess some serious drawing power, albeit not on the same level as Conor McGregor. ‘Chaos’s last outing was a main event in December 2024 in a failing attempt at capturing welterweight gold. and for Dustin Poirier, his last two fights were co-main and main events.

Now that’s a great backstory for an interesting build and a guaranteed entertaining fight. What do you think about this matchup? Drop your comments below.