The welterweight division is currently witnessing a thrilling moment as new title contenders emerge following the crowing of a new champion. One of those emerging stars is Shavkat Rakhmonov, who’s even called out Belal Muhammad recently, claiming that he’s next in line. However, there’s another big wave that going to hit the division sometime soon when Conor McGregor makes his return. Could he take away Rakhmonov’s chances?

Conor McGregor is fighting at 170 pounds when he makes his return against Michael Chandler, but when that will happen is truly uncertain at this point. Being the star that he is, a win over ‘Iron’ could help the Irishman bag a title shot to win a third divisional title, but Shavkat Rakhmonov doubts that will be the case.

Shavkat Rakhmonov doesn’t see Conor McGregor as a threat to his title aspirations

Shavkat Rakhmonov has made it apparent that he doesn’t have any idea of what Conor McGregor is up to. He has the sole focus on his upcoming fights and hopes to fight for the title. Besides, three years of inactivity and more losses than wins in his last few fights don’t even qualify McGregor as a credible contender for the 17o-pound gold, according to ‘Nomad’.

“To be honest, I don’t even think about when’s Conor going to fight [and] when he’s going to be ready. I don’t think about all that, you know,” Shavkat Rakhmonov told ‘MMA Fighting’. “He’s been getting ready to fight for a long time but hasn’t [been] able to do that yet… I don’t even think about him winning this one fight in three years is gonna do something.”

Meanwhile, Shavkat Rakhmonov is fully aware of the eyes Conor McGregor can bring to the UFC, and the Irishman certainly has the respect of his Kazakh counterpart. But claiming that UFC does right by its fighters, the 18-0 star hopes that Dana White and Co. would arrive at a logical standpoint when it comes to handing out the title shot.

“I understand he’s a big star, but in my head, I don’t see it being possible, you know. I think UFC is the most fair organization, so I believe they’re gonna do everything right,” Shavkat Rakhmonov added. On the other hand, ‘Nomad’ recently revealed that he was indeed offered a title fight against Belal Muhammad. But guess what? The champion declined to compete.

‘Nomad’ claims Belal Muhammad declined to fight him

Belal Muhammad aims to be a fighting champion, just like Alex Pereira, but things don’t seem to be that way as Shavkat Rakhmonov dropped a bombshell. Dana White offered him a fight against Belal Muhammad, which explains why he’s claiming himself to be next in line. However, ‘Remember the Name’ appeared to need some time to recover from his title-winning effort at UFC 304.

“I’ve already been offered a fight to fight Belal and I accepted the fight against Belal. But unfortunately, he declined to fight me due to the timing issues. He wasn’t ready to defend his belt on that time,” Shavkat Rakhmonov added. He mentioned that the original plan for the title fight was to be in October, but it seems unlikely that it will happen in 2024 with many stacked cards already announced for upcoming PPVs.

What do you make of Shavkat Rakhmonov shrugging off threats that maybe Conor McGregor will overtake him in the title shot race? Drop your views in the comments below.