Shavkat Rakhmonov and Colby Covington are both expressing interest in a potential fight at UFC 310, with Covington responding aggressively to Rakhmonov’s social media challenge amidst the uncertainty following Belal Muhammad‘s withdrawal due to a toe infection.
Shavkat Rakhmonov and Colby Covington seem to be on a similar wavelength, whether they know it or not. Funny how things work out sometimes, right?
With UFC 310’s lineup in chaos—thanks to welterweight champ Belal Muhammad pulling out from his Dec. 7 fight against Rakhmonov—several fighters are eyeing the undefeated Kazakh. During a chat with Submission Radio, Covington mused about his chances against Rakhmonov. Meanwhile, Kamaru Usman mentioned on his podcast that he’s open to stepping in on short notice, despite having trained with Rakhmonov before. Interesting dynamics at play!
Rakhmonov took to social media, throwing down the gauntlet. "All I hear are empty callouts," he wrote. "No real intention, no action. Just posturing for media and fans." Ouch.
Covington didn’t waste time firing back. He asked Rakhmonov’s manager, Daniel Rubenstein, to translate a message for him. “Someone just showed me Rubenstein’s tweet for that big dummy ‘Shitrat,’” Covington quipped, suggesting Rakhmonov didn’t write his own tweet. He added some colorful language: “Listen up, junior… I don’t posture and I don’t bluff.” Love or hate him, Covington sure knows how to make an entrance.
As of now, it’s unclear if Rakhmonov will still feature at UFC 310 or if he’ll face Muhammad later—Muhammad’s sidelined by a toe infection. If Covington steps in and an interim title is up for grabs, it’ll be his fifth UFC title bout.
Covington snagged an interim welterweight belt by defeating Rafael dos Anjos back in 2018 but later lost title fights to Kamaru Usman twice and Leon Edwards last December. A rollercoaster career, indeed!