This past Saturday night in the headliner of UFC 286, the welterweight title was on the line. Leon Edwards defended his welterweight title against former champion Kamaru Usman. In attendance was Colby Covington and after the fight was over, the UFC set it up for Edwards to defend his title against Covington next.
One man who was very upset by this news is Belal Muhammad (22-3, 1 NC). Muhammad is 8-0, 1 NC in his last nine fights with the one No Contest coming against the current champion. Muhammad said that there was talks for him to fight Covington on Saturday for a top contender spot, but he said that Covington chose to be the back-up fighter instead.
A frustrated Muhammad will now have to take another fight before he gets his title shot. After the event concluded, Dana White said in his post-fight press conference that they were working on a fight for Muhammad. Muhammad would be tasked with taking on undefeated sensation Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0).
UFC working on Muhammad – Rakhmonov
This is an absolutely brutal break for Muhammad. As a fan, I love the fight, but it’s hard not to feel for Muhammad. He believes that he should be fighting for the title next considering his winning streak and the fact that he’s been active. However, the promotion is going to test him one more time before getting that opportunity.
Shavkat Rakhmonov continued his unbeaten streak at UFC 285 when he submitted Geoff Neal. With that win, Rakhmonov went to a perfect 17-0 and not a single one of his fights has gone the distance. After his latest win, Rakhmonov said that he wanted a title eliminator and that’s what he’s getting.
At this point, there’s no timetable on this fight but it’s clear that this is the direction the promotion is going. Outside of Colby Covington, nobody seems happy with these decisions by the promotion, but the wheels will keep turning and fans are still in for some incredible fights.