Belal Muhammad reveals he considered amputating infected toe to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov on UFC 310 card: "It was heartbreaking"
The lengths to which Belal Muhammad was willing to go to defend his welterweight title against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 are harrowing. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, 'Remember the Name' spoke about the injury that led to his withdrawal from the main event of the card.
The injury led to a horrific toe infection that left him under no condition to fight. However, Muhammad was willing to amputate his toe just to make it to fight night. Fortunately, he reconsidered doing so and will await the co-main event winner between the unbeaten Kazakh and Ian Machado Garry.
When asked how difficult it was to pull out of the fight, Muhammad didn't hide his feelings.
"Literally, I was like... it got to the point where I was like, 'Bro, what if you got rid of the toe? What do I need to do to get back in there as quickly as possible?' But the way the doctor was saying it, it was like a bone infection. So it wasn't like people were saying, 'Oh, you got a broken toe.' I'm like, bro, if it was a toe? I had a broken toe for over a year."
It was then Muhammad revealed the true extent of his injury, and he may very well have lost his entire foot had he not heeded his doctor's advice.
"And then that toe got infected because of that, so that went directly into the bone and it was climbing up the foot. So he was like, 'Bro, you'll get your foot amputated.' It ain't that. So for me it's like, it was heartbreaking obviously, but just trusting God, trusting God has a plan for me, knowing that everything happens for a reason. And now that I look at it from a bigger picture side, I'm hoping that there's a reason for it."
Check out Belal Muhammad's comments about his toe injury (1:04):
Belal Muhammad hasn't been very active over the last two years
In both 2024 and 2023, Belal Muhammad only fought once each time. His 2024 campaign saw him finally fight for the title in his division, dethroning Leon Edwards as welterweight champion in dominant fashion. Unfortunately, he hasn't managed to fight more often due to fighters previously turning him down.
This same issue plagued his 2023 campaign, which saw him have to fight Gilbert Burns under suboptimal conditions. Nevertheless, he won via unanimous decision.