"Shavkat is too much for you" - Fans react as Kamaru Usman pens cryptic response following Belal Muhammad's UFC 310 exit

Belal Muhammad is out of his next fight and Kamaru Usman's recent social media response seems to be playing off of this news. The former welterweight champion seemed to ignite discourse from many MMA fans thereafter.

Shavkat Rakhmonov was supposed to be vying for Muhammad's 170-pound belt at UFC 310 in the pay-per-view main event. Alas, a bone infection resulting in multiple weeks of taking antibiotics and not being physically active has taken Muhammad out of the planned bout.

Usman's post on X was just three emojis as he posted two pairs of eyes and a sly smiling emoji in the wake of Muhammad's withdrawal from the contest.

X users took this to mean that the former 170-pound titleholder is throwing his hat into the ring for this vacancy. The now-ousted title challenger Rakhmonov also took to social media to suggest an interim title bout while wishing Muhammad well in recovery. These elements at play have gotten many talking and this was evident from the online discourse it inspired.

@Mannan27101993 said:

"Shavkat is too much for you"

@Shahabs stated:

"Banger of a fight if you take it"

@ClinchWizard quipped:

"Shavkat vs Usman? Would be sick"

Check out more fan comments below:

Check out Kamaru Usman's tweet that kicked off all of the speculation below:

Belal Muhammad and what options there could be for the UFC 310 main event now

Belal Muhammad will not defend his lineal welterweight title to close out the calendar year but it will be interesting to see what headlines this December pay-per-view card.

The X post from Usman above and the referenced Rakhmonov tweet about an interim title has got the rumor mill going. It seems like there's a certain appetite for a potential Kamaru Usman vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov interim title bout but nothing has been locked in by any means.

The co-main event being upgraded to the headliner is also an option for these event organizers. Alexandre Pantoja did after all already headline a PPV earlier this year at UFC 301. The co-main event as will see Pantoja defend his flyweight belt against former Rizin champion/UFC debutant Kai Asakura but it could end the night considering the recent circumstances of Muhammad's withdrawal.

Also, some fans have suggested a short-notice effort from light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira to save yet another UFC PPV. However, it's unclear how serious some of these fan suggestions actually are considering how absurdly active the Brazilian knockout artist has been in the last 365 days.