Shavkat Rakhmonov was supposed to compete for division gold at UFC 310 next week. But with champ Belal Muhammad having pulled out due to a bone infection, ‘Nomad’ will take on fellow undefeated welterweight star, Ian Garry instead. Of course, most are expecting Rakhmonov, who has finished every opponent put in front of him, to win without many issues. Why exactly? Well, who better to explain why than welterweight star Vicente Luque, who has trained with both men.

Speaking to former UFC star and BKFC superstar, ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry on the latter’s podcast, the Brazilian explained just what makes the undefeated Kazakh so good before giving his official prediction for the Rakhmonov-Garry UFC 310 co-main event clash. “I’ve trained recently with Shavkat for this fight, you know. We’ve trained sometimes and he’s really good, he’s good, you know, it’s not just hype. He’s very good all around, he strikes very well, and he has good conditioning, good grappling, and good wrestling. And I think he could definitely be a champion in the division,” Luque said.

While Luque undoubtedly felt that Garry had gotten better since they trained a couple of years ago, he gave the edge to Rakhmonov off of his superior ground game. Indeed, the Irishman has improved over the past couple of years, having added some grappling to supplement his elite striking game. But how well it would serve against ‘Nomad’, of course, remains to be seen.

“When we go to Shavkat and Ian, I’ve trained with Ian over two years ago… I’m sure that he has changed, he has gotten better, I think. But the edge he has is striking, but not by much. And then grappling and wrestling for me, Shavkat is better. So I’m gonna give, you know, Shavkat favorite on that fight,” he added.

Of course, the Rakhmonov-Garry fight is a title eliminator and the winner is expected to fight Belal Muhammad next. And since Luque thinks that will be Rakhmonov, he gave his take on a potential Muhammad-Rakhmonov title clash.

Luque’s thoughts on a possible Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov clash

Throughout his career, Belal Muhammad has surprised a lot of people. And that includes Vicente Luque, who has fought ‘Bully B’ twice. As Muhammad is champion, a shocking development for many, including Luque, the Brazilian feels that Muhammad cannot be written off as an easy fight for Rakhmonov.

“Belal has surprised me… I didn’t think he was gonna beat Gilbert [Burns], he beat Gilbert A didn’t think he was gonna be a champion, he became a champion… I think he has been underestimated a lot, and he has gotten much better and is, you know, a champion for a reason. So I think it’s a really interesting fight… The fight [between] Shavkat and Belal, I’m 50/50 now,” Luque told Perry.

Of course, the Palestinian-American is a completely different matchup for Rakhmonov than Ian Garry. After all, the champ is a veritable world-class wrestler and is almost definitely going to try and take the fight to the ground as soon as possible. In addition, Muhammad has proven himself over the past eight years in the UFC and is thus more experienced compared to the relatively inexperienced and much younger Garry.

This is why most, like Luque, feel a Muhammad-Rakhmonov clash is too close to call. But first, ‘Nomad’ needs to face and defeat Garry this weekend, and the Irishman is more than capable of springing an upset. What do you think about Luque’s take on the Rakhmonov-Garry clash at UFC 310?