Dana White Announces Huge UFC 310 PPV Card With 2 Championship Fights

The last UFC PPV of the year has its main card, co-main card and PPV in place.

With few suitable options to headline the card, the UFC put together a strong show with two championship fights. In the main event, UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad will defend his title against undefeated Shavkat Rahkmonov.

The challenger is a perfect 18-0 with submissions in every fight. Muhammad, who defeated Leon Edwards to win the title in July, doesn’t rest long before making his first defense.

In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja will defend his title against Japanese newcomer Kai Asakura.

The latter is making his promotional debut after gaining fame fighting in Japan throughout his career.

Here’s a look at White’s announcement.

Here’s a look at the entire UFC 310 card.

Main event:

• Belal Muhammad (c) vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov for the UFC welterweight title

Co-Main Event:

• Alexandre Pantoja (c) x Kai Asakura for the UFC Flyweight Belt

Other fights:

• Ciryl Gane x Alexander Volkov (heavyweight)
• Movsar Evloev x Aljamain Sterling (featherweight)
• Anthony Smith vs Dominick Reyes (light heavyweight)
• Tatiana Suarez x Virna Jandiroba (women’s strawweight)
• Chase Hooper vs. Clay Guida (Lightweight)
• Nick Diaz x Vicente Luque (welterweight)

There are only eight fights confirmed here, so there’s a good chance we’ll see more fights signed. Up to four more fights could be added. As it stands, the card already has potentially five fights scheduled with title implications.

The winner of Gane-Volkov will likely get the next heavyweight title shot after Tom Aspinall. When UFC 310 arrives, this fight could be the No. 1 contender’s fight. If the winner of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic retires after UFC 309, Aspinall will be elevated to undisputed champion.

That would make the Gane-Volkov winner their No. 1 contender – unless Alex Pereira moves up to heavyweight to challenge Aspinall.

Movsar Evloev could make a strong case for a title shot if he beats Sterling. Although Diego Lopes is currently ranked higher, he lost to Evloev in May 2023. At the very least, the two men should meet again to see who is ranked higher.

Alexander Volkanovski is still the No. 1 contender and could get the next title shot – especially if Ilia Topuria retains the belt against Max Holloway at UFC 308 on October 26.

Tatiana Suarez has been the No. 1 contender for Weili Zhang’s strawweight title for some time. She left due to an injury. If she can defeat Virna Jandiroba and stay healthy, that will be Weili’s next fight.

Nick Diaz’s return has more to do with the show than the content. The Diaz brothers still carry a mystique and fan support. The placement of the Diaz-Vicente Luque fight is strong on a well-designed card.

The rest of UFC 310 could be filled with main roster debuts from fighters who earned their contracts at the start of Season 8 of the Dana White Contender Series. Keep an eye on Mansur Abdul-Malik and Lone’er Kavanagh.

Both men made a notable impact in Episode 1 with early season knockout victories.