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UFC 310 Is in Shambles with Belal Muhammad Injury No Matter How It's Drawn Up

Opinion: Nearly a month out from UFC 310, the MMA community is worried, and should be.

Zain Bando

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

UFC 310, scheduled to take place December 7 in Las Vegas, is without a main event.

Belal Muhammad Withdraws From UFC 310

Halloween morning, news broke that UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad had suffered a bone infection, forcing him to withdraw from his first title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov.

UFC 310 Is in Shambles with Belal Muhammad Injury No Matter How It's Drawn Up
Leon Edwards fights Belal Muhammad during UFC 304. / (REUTERS/John Sibley)

Rakhmonov hopes to remain on the card, but against whom is the primary question. Talks of Alex Pereira returning to the Octagon to save the event and defend his light heavyweight title have been shot down, according to a report from MMAFighting.com Friday.

Within the last hour, another potential name was ruled out. The promotion confirmed the UFC Tampa main event, which will see the return of Ian Machado Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley in a five-round fight on December 14. Garry is undefeated in the promotion and is adamant about continuing to showcase Ireland as a premier country for future UFC champions.

UFC 310 Is in Shambles with Belal Muhammad Injury No Matter How It's Drawn Up
Jun 29, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Ian Machado Garry (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Michael Page (blue gloves) during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

At press time, it is hard to envision what the UFC will do next. December pay-per-views have been a promotional staple for years. Dating back to the beginning of the ESPN+ relationship, UFC 245 and UFC 296 have featured welterweight title fights in Las Vegas, making it a semi-common occurrence.

There are few options when going down the list of male champions. The flyweight title fight between Alexandre Pantoja and promotional newcomer Kai Asakura could get elevated to the main event, but the buzz simply wouldn't feel the same to the casual audience.

The One Hail Mary Scenario That Could Save UFC 310

While highly unlikely, there is one fight the MMA masses are failing to acknowlege the possibility of: a rematch between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland.

The UFC has been heavily pushing for an event in South Africa, which is well-documented. However, du Plessis has been open to rematching Strickland when the timing is right. Khamzat Chimaev just beat Robert Whittaker, putting him in a firm position to face the potential winner, or for the belt itself.

UFC 310 Is in Shambles with Belal Muhammad Injury No Matter How It's Drawn Up
Jan 20, 2024; Toronto, Canada, USA; Sean Strickland (red glove) fights Dricus Du Plessis (blue gloves) during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena. / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The backstory between du Plessis and Strickland is already built. They had a close fight in January, awarding du Plessis the championship. He then went on and finished Israel Adesanya seven months later, doing so largely unscathed.

If both are healthy, that's the flight to make. But the only people who can do so are UFC brass. Now the MMA community will have to wait.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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