UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad believes Ian Machado Garry could potentially make it look easy against Shavkat Rakhmonov this Saturday in Las Vegas.
Belal Muhammad is keeping a close eye on the UFC 310 co-headliner this weekend between welterweight contenders Ian Machado Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov. The two undefeated former teammates will clash in the UFC 310 co-main event for a shot at facing Muhammad for the welterweight champ’s first title defense.
Muhammad won the belt by defeating Leon Edwards by unanimous decision at UFC 304. He was supposed to face Rakhmonov in the UFC 310 headliner before withdrawing due to an infection.
Garry and Rakhmonov have the opportunity to cement themselves as the worthy next title challenger upon Muhammad’s return to the Octagon. While both undefeated fighters have their strengths, Garry enters UFC 310 as a modest betting underdog ahead of fight night.
Despite the odds stacked against him, Garry is Muhammad’s pick to shine against Rakhmonov at UFC 310. After sharing his prediction on social media, Muhammad has expanded on why he strongly believes Garry will get the job done this weekend.
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Belal Muhammad says Ian Machado Garry’s movement will frustrate Shavkat Rakhmonov
During a recent appearance on the Red Hawk Recap podcast, Muhammad opined that Garry’s movement and mentality will be too much for Rakhmonov to overcome.
“I keep leaning towards Ian. When I’m watching the tape and looking at it, I feel like he’s the more technical striker, better, faster,” Muhammad said. “Shavkat has that toughness in him and he definitely has a better ground game than Ian, but I think Ian is very smart with the way he moves. He’s not affected by the crowd or anything like that, he’ll stick and move his way to a victory and not care about if he’s getting booed or not.
“The fact they trained together…Shavkat gets hit a lot. So if I’m putting money on it, I’m putting it on Ian.”
Garry and Rakhmonov are two of the welterweight division’s exciting young stars who could potentially be in the mix for a while. Before signing with the UFC, Garry and Rakhmonov won world titles in mid-tier promotions, including Garry’s title win in Cage Warriors.
Both welterweights have dominated their competition since making the move to the UFC Octagon. Garry most recently defeated Michael ‘Venom’ Page at UFC 303, while Rakhmonov finished former title challenger Stephen Thompson in his last fight at UFC 296.
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Ian Machado Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov battle for Belal Muhammad’s next opponent
As of this writing, a timeframe for Muhammad’s return is uncertain, although he’s tentatively aiming for a return in 2025’s first semester. In the podcast appearance mentioned above, Muhammad said he recently returned to hitting pads and remains far off from going full-throttle in the gym.
While Garry vs. Rakhmonov isn’t the UFC 310 main event, it’s arguably the main card fight that’s getting the most buzz. The fact that both welterweights are undefeated, and one of them risks taking their first loss, adds more to the intrigue.
Garry and Rakhmonov are fighting with a lot on the line at UFC 310. The champ will be watching, and he expects Garry to utilize his strengths in pursuit of victory.