Belal Muhammad makes eye-opening remark on Ian Machado Garry replacing him against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310
Belal Muhammad recently expressed his optimism over the upcoming Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry matchup at UFC 310. Muhammad claimed that since the two had previously called out one another and would both be risking their unbeaten status, the fight made a lot of sense.
The welterweight title landscape was up in the air as many MMA fans worldwide wondered who would face Rakhmonov next after Muhammad withdrew from their title fight at UFC 310 due to a bone infection in his left foot. It was later announced that Garry will co-headline against the Kazakh in a title eliminator bout at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena.
During a recent episode of the Anik & Florian Podcast, Jason Anik spoke to Muhammad and asked about his thoughts on the Rakhmonov vs. Garry matchup. In response, the reigning champion stated:
''I'm happy that there was no interim belt, I don't think it was needed but yeah I think the matchup makes a lot of sense especially when you're looking at the division.''
Muhammad emphasized that because Rakhmonov and Garry are putting their undefeated records on the line, the contest will be exciting:
''It made more sense than Buckley and Ian Garry. I think Shavkat and Ian Garry, both undefeated, both guys are right there at the top and they both called each other out before Ian said he wanted that fight before, but it makes a lot of sense and I'm excited to see how it goes.''
Check out Belal Muhammad's comments below (23:50):
Belal Muhammad provides an update on his foot injury
Belal Muhammad's first welterweight title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 was scrapped after Muhammad suffered a foot injury.
However, in the aforementioned conversation with Jason Anik, Muhammad provided encouraging news on his recovery, saying:
''It’s been a hard, difficult three weeks, but we got news today that, I went walking up the stairs yesterday and I got so many messages, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?’, but the doctor gave me clearance. He said the toe looks good, and the wound is fully closed, so I started jogging on it. The only thing is that I got 10 days left of the antibiotics, so on Dec. 1 the PICC line comes out, and we’re all systems go. Now I can see the finish line. It feels so good.” [H/t: MMA Junkie]