“Big thanks to the UFC for offering me the shot at the belt first. Unfortunately, due to injury, I won’t be ready for May. I’ll be facing the winner later this year!” Shavkat Rakhmonov wrote on X after he suffered a knee injury, which ruled him out of the bout against defending champion Belal Muhammad. Their first fight at UFC 310 was previously canceled due to the current champion’s bone infection. Now, Jack Della Maddalena has got his shot at the belt at UFC 315, taking ‘Nomad’s place.
Kazakhstan’s undefeated phenom had a great run to establish himself as the number one contender for the welterweight championship. He has battered everyone in his path to secure that spot. His previous dominant wins over Geoff Neal, Stephen Thompson, and Ian Machado Garry have made him the division’s boogeyman, and many believed he had the style to dethrone the current 170 lbs kingpin. However, an untimely knee injury took that fight off the table before it could materialize.
Belal Muhammad has long wanted this fight to happen. He trained for it and remained hopeful that the clash with Shavkat Rakhmonov would take place at some point in the future. Speaking during the UFC 315 media day, he said, “For me, if Shavkat is healthy, I think Shavkat deserves it, but I don’t really know what his injury is or how long he’s going to be out for,” indicating his willingness to plan for a future showdown. However, a popular X handle, Dovy Simu MMA, posted a photo of Shavkat Rakhmonov in the hospital with the caption: “Looks like Shavkat had surgery, hope he’s well.”
Looks like Shavkat had surgery, hope he’s well pic.twitter.com/bm4q2UPnpU
— Dovy (@DovySimuMMA) May 10, 2025
This is definitely a big blow to the current #2-ranked welterweight contender. A knee injury is one of the toughest setbacks to recover from, and it may take a considerable amount of time before he can return to full training. Adding to the challenge, the welterweight division is currently stacked with rising contenders. Ian Garry is already the backup for UFC 315, Joaquin Buckley could make a major statement if he gets past Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta, and Sean Brady is also in the mix, sitting just behind the champion as number 1 contender, after his impressive victory over Leon Edwards at UFC London.
If ‘Nomad’ recovers quickly, he could still come back in the latter half of the year, potentially in UFC’s December events. However, all eyes are currently on UFC 315, where tensions are high heading into the main event. Both fighters will be eager to prove themselves inside the octagon, but there’s a twist, a change in the rules that could significantly impact the trajectory of this fight.
Foot stomps are not allowed at the UFC 315 fight between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena
UFC 315 is shaping up to be a deciding factor that goes beyond just the welterweight gold belt. According to head honcho Dana White, the future of International Fight Week also depends on the winner of this main event. So, the stakes are definitely high. In that case, the fighters involved have also structured their strategies accordingly. If, somehow, they included foot stomping, it’s bad news, because that’s not going to be allowed in the octagon.
Renowned MMA reporter Aaron Bronsteter have given us a significant update regarding tomorrow’s event that it will still follow the unified MMA rules, but the rarely used foot stomps won’t be allowed. He wrote on X, “I’m told that the Quebec athletic commission will be utilizing the unified rules of MMA for UFC 315 with one notable exception… Foot stomps will not be permitted.”
It’s definitely a minimal change, but an interesting decision by the Quebec Athletic Commission. The most vivid recent memory of foot stomping in a fight comes from the UFC 251 bout, where Kamaru Usman repeatedly used the technique against Jorge Masvidal from the clinch position along the cage. However, the reason behind the QAC’s decision to ban foot stomping remains unknown.
So, with that being said, do you think that we’re all set to witness an amazing main event fight at UFC 315? Or is it going to be a snoozefest? Please let us know by commenting below.
The post New Twist in Belal Muhammad’s Plans as ‘Injured’ Shavkat Rakhmonov Undergoes Knee Surgery Amid UFC 315 appeared first on EssentiallySports.
