Shavkat Rakhmonov claims Belal Muhammad has turned down UFC title defence ‘due to timing issues’

Rakhmonov is expected to be Muhammad’s first challenger for the welterweight belt

Shavkat Rakhmonov has claimed that Belal Muhammad has turned down a UFC title defence against him, due to “timing issues”.

Muhammad pulled off an upset win over Leon Edwards in July, beating the Jamaican-born Briton in Manchester to win the welterweight belt.

Muhammad comfortably outpointed Edwards, three years after the pair fought to a No Contest. Rakhmonov is now expected to be the Palestinian-American’s first challenger.

“I’ve already been offered a fight [with] Belal, and I accepted the fight against Belal,” Rakhmonov told MMA Fighting on Friday (30 August). “But unfortunately, he declined to fight me due to the timing issues. He wasn’t ready to defend his belt on that time.

“It was in October, the Salt Lake [City] card,” added the Kazakh, who is 18-0 with 18 stoppages. Rakhmonov was referencing UFC 307, which will now be headlined by Alex Pereira vs Khalil Rountree Jr – a light-heavyweight title fight.

“So, we’ll see what’s going to happen and when he’s going to be ready, so I will be able to fight him. Before he became a champion, and after he won the belt, he said he’s going to be an active champion and he will defend his belt more often. But at the moment he wasn’t backing up what he said.

“I don’t know what’s going on with Belal. If they say December, January, I’m going to be ready; if they say April, May, it doesn’t matter. I already deserve to fight for the belt. I already secured the spot, and I’ll just make sure I’m going to be ready for the fight. So, whenever he’s ready, I’m in.”

Shavkat Rakhmonov is 18-0 and has won all of his fights via stoppage (Getty Images)

Rakhmonov, 29, last fought in December, beating former title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson via submission.

Rakhmonov is widely seen as a future UFC champion, but Muhammad is fine form. The 36-year-old is on a 10-fight win streak that spans five years, excluding his No Contest with Edwards in 2021.