Despite continually staking his claim for a title fight with welterweight gold holder, Belal Muhammad at UFC 310 in December, unbeaten divisional challenger, Shavkat Rakhmonov has now claimed the defending titleholder is not even “ready” to compete before the end of the year.
Rakhmonov, the current number three ranked divisional contender, most recently improved to 18-0 as a professional — landing his eighteenth professional career win back in December of last year at UFC 296, submitting former title chaser, Stephen Thompson with a rear-naked choke submission win.
For Muhammad, the Illinois native most recently scooped the undisputed welterweight title back in July at UFC 304, taking home a dominant unanimous decision win over Leon Edwards in the pair’s title rematch fight in Manchester, England.