There’s some good news for UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.
Last month, it was revealed that Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) was not going to be making his first title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 due to some serious health issues. Muhammad suffered a nasty toe infection that sent him to the hospital and forced his withdrawal from the fight.
Well, now, three weeks later, things are looking up for the 36-year-old.
“It’s been a hard, difficult three weeks, but we got news today that, I went walking up the stairs yesterday and I got so many messages, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?’, but the doctor gave me clearance,” Muhammad said on the latest episode of “Remember the Show.” “He said the toe looks good, and the wound is fully closed, so I started jogging on it. The only thing is that I got 10 days left of the antibiotics, so on Dec. 1 the PICC line comes out, and we’re all systems go. Now I can see the finish line. It feels so good.”
With Muhammad’s injury, there was talk of a potential implementation of an interim belt. However, given Muhammad wasn’t going to be out for too long, the UFC instead booked a title eliminator bout between Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry for the co-main event of UFC 310, promoting the uFC flyweight title bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura to the main event.
Muhammad is happy with the way things were handled by the UFC in his division.
“Honestly, I’m happy that there was no interim belt. I didn’t think it was needed,” Muhammad said. “But yeah, I think the matchup makes a lot of sense when you look at the division. It made more sense than Buckley and Ian Garry. I think Shavkat and Ian Garry, both undefeated, both guys that are right there at the top, and they have both called each other out before. It makes a lot of sense, and I’m excited to see how it goes.”