UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad made an unexpected attempt to enter the Octagon last Saturday night at UFC 310. He intended to confront Shavkat Rakhmonov, who had just defeated Ian Garry and is now positioned as the next contender for the title.
However, cageside security initially stopped Muhammad, seemingly failing to recognize him and suspecting he might instigate a disturbance. After clarifying the situation, the 170-pound kingpin was eventually allowed into the cage.
Security measures at UFC events have been heightened due to past incidents involving fighters storming the Octagon and provoking altercations. Addressing the confusion, Muhammad explained his side of the story during an interview with The Schmo:
Yeah, I don’t know, they thought I was gonna do. They thought I was pulling a Merab, like hopping over and going crazy or something like that,” Muhammad said. “No, he called me, bro! If someone calls me into the cage, I’m gonna go in there, right? I don’t think (security) heard it, they didn’t realize what was going on — they thought I was going in to attack him. I’m just like, bro, chill.
The tension between Muhammad and Rakhmonov dates back to their originally scheduled matchup in the UFC 310 headliner, which was canceled after Muhammad withdrew due to a toe infection.
Adding to the drama, Leon Edwards responded to the incident on Instagram with a string of crying-laughing emojis under an ESPN post.
Muhammad's surge to the welterweight mountaintop came at the expense of Edwards this past July. "Remember the Name" outpointed "Rocky" across five rounds in the UFC 304 main event, staged in Manchester, England.
Edwards has vowed to bounce back and regain the gold by the end of 2025. For the time being, though, Muhammad looks set to have his hands full with Rakhmonov before potentially pondering a trilogy with the former champ.