Shavkat Rakhmonov‘s whole plans got derailed when Belal Muhammad pulled out of the year-ending UFC 310 pay-per-view due to an untimely bone infection. However, it seems like his chance to fight for the title may have been delayed, but he could still be featured on that card. Rakhmonov’s manager revealed that they are indeed having some “negotiations” with Dana White & Co, and one of his options as the opponent is former champ Kamaru Usman.

“Yeah, right now negotiations are going on [to keep him at UFC 310],” Shavkat Rakhmonov’s coach told Ariel Helwani. “I don’t know if they’re talking to someone else [but] I’m sure they offered Kamaru, too.” It’s no surprise that Kamaru Usman’s name has come up for a fight against ‘Nomad’ because a couple of months ago, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ addressed the rumors about him fighting the undefeated star, to which, he said, “Anything can happen.”

We aren’t sure what the implication of the fight between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Kamaru Usman is, but there have been speculations about a potential No.1 contender’s match, which may not be a bad idea. Moreover, the Kazakh star even called for an interim title fight in December as well. This would add to the year-ending PPV given that the UFC 310 card has only one title fight.

Belal Muhammad has just been injured, and it’s unsure as to when he’d be making his return to full health despite him indicating a 6-week injury layoff. Dana White could very well choose to go for the same route as the heavyweight division and put the interim title up for grabs to keep the division occupied. But the champion doesn’t seem to be a big fan of the idea.

Belal Muhammad is not so keen on the interim title “fiasco”

Down but not out! That’s what Belal Muhammad insinuated when Shavkat Rakhmonov mentioned an interim title. As we’ve mentioned already, he claims to be going out for just a few weeks, and that’s not a good reason why an interim title should be introduced in his absence. However, the UFC does what it wants on most occasions. So, if an interim title is what comes to their mind, the undisputed champion would have no choice but to watch a ‘novelty’ champion being crowned in his absence.

“He’s calling for an interim title fight, and I’m like, ‘Interim title fight? Bro, it’s six weeks, not six months that I’m off.’ But even for myself, if they want to just do that to make it a main event, I mean, I don’t really care about it if they want to make it a title fight regardless because they know who has the real belt. So for me, I know who my next opponent is gonna be,” Belal Muhammad stated on ‘The Anik and Florian’ podcast.

With just over a month to go for UFC 310, it will be interesting if Shavkat Rakhmonov’s negotiation with Dana White and Co. turns out to be in his favor, and how it would impact the welterweight title scene. What is your take on the division’s current situation?