Belal Muhammad defends his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310

Belal Muhammad (24-3) will make the first defense of the welterweight championship against undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov in the main event of UFC 310 on December 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Muhammad, 36, recently won the 170-pound title by defeating Leon Edwards via unanimous decision at UFC 304 in July. His first test as champion will be against a man with a 100% completion rate.

Rakhmonov, 29, is the No. 3 ranked welterweight in the UFC and has a perfect record of 18-0, with all of his victories coming by knockout or submission. Rakhmonov is coming off a submission victory over Stephen Thompson in December 2023.

UFC CEO Dana White announced the main event on social media and revealed the co-main event, which will see flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja defend his championship against Kai Asakura.

The 30-year-old Asakura will have a shot at a UFC title in his debut with the promotion. Pantoja, 34, will attempt to defend his title for the third time. In his most recent appearance, the Brazilian defeated Steve Erceg and defended the title at UFC 301 in May. Pantoja (28-5) is currently on a six-fight winning streak.

The UFC signed Asakura in June after a long tenure with RIZIN, where he was the promotion's bantamweight champion. He enters the UFC with a professional record of 21-4.

White also announced the return of Nick Diaz (26-10), who will face Vicente Luque (22-10-1). It will be Diaz's first fight since losing to Robbie Lawler in September 2021. The promotion attempted to set up the fight for August in Abu Dhabi, but Diaz was withdrawn due to a “travel issue.”