The main event of UFC 310, in which Belal Muhammad defends his welterweight title against Shavkhat Rakhmonov, was pulled from the card due to a bone infection in Muhammad’s left leg.

Muhammad announced that he cannot do any physical activity for the next six weeks after being hospitalized to receive IV antibiotics and posted a picture of the toe that had the infection.

Mike Heck de MMAFighting.com reported that the UFC is looking for a replacement opponent for Rakhmonov, but it is unclear if the bout will be added to the UFC 310 card or moved to a later date.

It is also unclear if a replacement fight would be for the interim welterweight title.

As things currently stand, the main event for the December 7th show at T-Mobile Arena will feature Alexandre Pantoja defending his championship on the fly against Kai Asakura.

Six weeks without physical activity means the earliest Muhammad could start training for a fight is mid-December. If you consider the usual six to eight week schedule for a camp, his return fight could be in late January or early February.

A potential replacement match for Rakhmonov would come with significant risk, as if he loses, it would likely cost him a shot against Muhammad for the title. The 30-year-old is a perfect 18-0 in his mixed martial arts career, all of his wins coming via stoppage (eight KOs, 10 submissions).

Rakhmonov has not fought since defeating Stephen Thompson at UFC 296 in December 2023. He said heck in August, the UFC offered him an early-year title shot against Muhammad, but the champion turned down the proposed October date because he didn’t feel he had enough time to train properly.

Muhammad was to make his first welterweight championship defense against Rakhmonov. He won the title by defeating Leon Edwards via unanimous decision at UFC 304 on July 27.

It was Edwards’ first loss since December 2015 against Kamaru Usman. Muhammad is undefeated in his last 11 fights of 2019 and owns an overall record of 24-3-1 in 28 fights.