The UFC will close its 2024 pay-per-view-schedule with a championship doubleheader.
UFC CEO Dana White announced on Saturday that UFC 310 on Dec. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+) will feature two title fights.
In the main event, Belal Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) will put his welterweight title on the line for the first time against the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).
And it’s not often a fighter will make his or her UFC debut in a title fight, but that’s what former RIZIN champion Kai Asakura (21-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will do when he challenges flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja (28-5 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in the co-headliner.
Muhammad, 35, claimed the 170-pound belt in July when he outworked Leon Edwards to a unanimous decision in their UFC 304 rematch. He is currently riding a 12-fight unbeaten streak.
Rakhmonov, 30, has been tearing through the competition inside the octagon as he sports a perfect record with a 100 percent finish rate. He hasn’t fought since December 2023, however, when he earned a submission win over Stephen Thompson at UFC 296.
Asakura, 30, signed with the UFC in June. He became a star in Japan through Road FC and eventually into RIZIN, which he competed in from 2017-2023. Asakura went 13-3 for the promotion with wins over notables including Kyoji Horiguchi and Juan Archuleta, both of whom he finished with strikes.
Predominantly a bantamweight throughout his career, Asakura will drop down a weight class for his UFC title bout.
Pantoja aims to successfully defend his title for the third time. Since a title challenge win over Brandon Moreno in July 2023, Pantoja has won back-to-back defenses against Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg by unanimous decision. He rides a six-fight winning streak into this matchup.
The latest UFC 310 lineup now includes:
- Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov – for welterweight title
- Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – for flyweight title
- Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
- Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque
- Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
- Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
- Virna Jandiroba vs. Tatiana Suarez
- Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
- Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
- Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
