Shavkat Rakhmonov needs an opponent and needs it quickly. After all, the undefeated welterweight is in no man’s land after champion Belal Muhammad pulled out of their scheduled UFC 310 clash in December. Former champions Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington have publicly claimed that they want to step in, only for the Kazakh phenom to dismiss it as posturing for the fans’ benefit and some PR.

But Covington, of course, isn’t one to let his name be taken in vain. ‘Chaos’ took to social media and blasted ‘Nomad’. The former interim champ took great offense to Rakhmonov’s claim that he was posturing and promised to call Dana White and UFC matchmaker Hunter Campbell to put his money where his mouth is.

And Rakhmonov, instead of being riled up at any of the petty insults Covington threw at him during the response, chose to be the bigger man. The Kazakh welcomed ‘Chaos’s enthusiasm to fight him and called on him to make it happen. “Let’s go, I’m ready! Your talking will not help you in the octagon,” Rakhmonov commented on Covington’s video.

To be fair to Rakhmonov, Covington is precisely the type of guy to posture and bluff. After all, the American plays an outspoken, rude, and villainous character in public, clearly inspired by some of the best WWE heels. A firm believer in the adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity, Covington, for example, went back and forth with Ian Garry for many months promising to fight him only to back out of signing the contract to face him in the end.

This is why it will not be surprising in the least if Covington does not call Dana White and Huner Campbell soon to try and make the Rakhmonov fight a reality. But Kamaru Usman, who was also called out by Rakhmonov, is an entirely different matter.

Shavkat Rakhmonov calls out Usman’s claim to step in at UFC 310

Along with Colby Covington, there is another, worthier opponent who threw their name in the hat to fight Rakhmonov at UFC 310- the legendary Kamaru Usman. ‘Nomad’ himself has admitted that he would like to fight against the man Dana White called the welterweight GOAT for the interim title in December.

“If it’s for the interim belt, I believe Usman is a worthy opponent who would also be ready to jump in to face me,” Rakhmonov said. However, after Usman started making noise about stepping in on short notice, Rakhmonov chalked it up as him blowing hot air. This is surprising as Usman is not Colby Covington. It is safe to say that he is quite the opposite as evidenced by his short-notice battle against boogeyman Khamzat Chimaev just last year and that too at 185lbs.

Perhaps ‘Nomad’ was trying to get ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ to call the UFC and make it happen. After all, on his podcast with Henry Cejudo, Usman had said that he was waiting for a call from the UFC. If that call comes and they agree on terms, he will be ready to fight Rakhmonov.

Perhaps Rakhmonov wants Usman to do what Covington has claimed he will do and get on the phone with Dana White to actually make it official. Or maybe the undefeated Kazakh knows some behind-the-scenes going ruckus that makes him believe Usman doesn’t want to fight him. What do you think about Shavkat Rakhmonov and Colby Covington’s back-and-forth over a possible UFC 310 clash?