UFC 310 will be headlined by welterweight champion Belal Muhammad taking on the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the lineup for the final pay-per-view event of 2024 on social media early Saturday morning which will feature a promotional debutant in a title fight and the return of a longtime fan favorite on December 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Breaking news!!!#UFC310: Muhammad vs Rakhmonov is LIVE December 7th from Las Vegas! pic.twitter.com/woLuZObLXV
— danawhite (@danawhite) October 12, 2024
Headlining the event will be new welterweight champion Belal Muhammad against undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov. Muhammad (24-3) returns to action after going into enemy territory and routing former title holder Leon Edwards in the UK. Rakhmonov (18-0) makes his first appearance of 2024 and will be competing in his first UFC headliner and title fight. Rakhmonov has six UFC appearances and holds stoppage victories over veterans Stephen Thompson, Geoff Neal, and Neal Magny.
In the co-headliner, surging flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will take on promotional newcomer Kai Asakura. Pantoja (28-5) has been nothing short of dominant in recording victories over the likes of Brandon Moreno, Brandon Royval, Steve Erceg, and Manel Kape in a UFC run that dates back to being part of The Ultimate Fighter in 2016. Asakura (21-4) enters after being the RIZIN bantamweight champion and defeated former title holder Juan Archuleta at their annual New Year’s Eve show last year. Asakura joins Gilbert Melendez, Quinton Jackson, and Dan Henderson as one of the few fighters of the modern era to challenge for a UFC title in their promotional debut in the modern era.
Also rounding out marquee action will be the rebooked bantamweight fight between top-fifteen ranked contender Vicente Luque and former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger Nick Diaz. The two were originally set to fight in August before the bout was scrapped two weeks out from the event date. Luque (22-10) is looking to return to the win-column after a loss to Joaquin Buckley in March. Diaz (26-10) will be competing for the first time since 2021 where he refused to continue late in the third round.
The main card will also see the rebooked bout between top heavyweights Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov who meet in a rematch of their 2021 bout. It is unclear which will be the fifth and final bout of the UFC 310 main card.
In addition to Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakjmonov and Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura, other bouts set for the card include:
- Aljamain Sterling vs Movsar Evloev
- Anthony Smith vs Dominick Reyes
- Tatiana Suarez vs Virna Jandiroba
- Clay Guida vs Chase Hooper
- Michael Chiesa vs Max Griffin
- Cody Durden vs Joshua Van
