The UFC will close out its pay-per-view schedule for 2024 with two major championship fights in Las Vegas on December 7.
With the final quarter of this year well underway, mixed martial arts' leading promotion is beginning to fill the remaining slots on its fight schedule. And in two of the most prominent ones now sit reigning titleholders.
UFC CEO Dana White took to social media on Saturday to announce the headline bouts for UFC 310, the promotion's final PPV of the year.
Closing out 2024 in style, a highly anticipated welterweight title fight between newly crowned champion Belal Muhammad (24-3, 1 NC) and undefeated challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0) will top the lineup inside Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.
There will also be title stakes in the co-headliner, as flyweight kingpin Alexandre Pantoja (28-5) returns for his second defense of the year and third overall. Having turned away the threats posed by Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg, "The Cannibal" will next share the cage with a newcomer in former Rizin champ Kai Asakura (21-4).
Muhammad captured the 170-pound gold in enemy territory this past July, beating Leon Edwards in dominant fashion to extend his unbeaten run to 11 straight fights. Rakhmonov, meanwhile, has won all six of his Octagon outings to date, submitting both Geoff Neal and Stephen Thompson in his most recent fights.
Pantoja is deeper into his reign on the throne at 125 pounds, having held the crown since a memorable win over Brandon Moreno in the summer of 2023. After a scare against Australia's Erceg in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year, the Brazilian will look to increase his grip on the title against a highly regarded debutant in Japan's Asakura.
White also confirmed that Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov and Vicente Luque vs. Nick Diaz โ matchups postponed from cards in October and August, respectively โ have been rescheduled for the same event.
With these additions, the current fights expected to take place at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 are as follows:
- Belal Muhammad (C) vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov (welterweight championship main event)
- Alexandre Pantoja (C) vs. Kai Asakura (flyweight championship co-main event)
- Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov (heavyweight)
- Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling (featherweight)
- Vicente Luque vs. Nick Diaz (welterweight)
- Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba (women's strawweight)
- Anthony Smith vs. Dominick Reyes (light heavyweight)
- Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin (welterweight)
- Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper (lightweight)
- Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van (flyweight)