Shavkat Rakhmonov: 'I should be next' for UFC title shot against Belal Muhammad

Shavkat Rakhmonov is very confident his next fight will be for UFC gold.

Although not officially booked or reported as in the works, Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) expects the promotion to give him the first crack at recently crowned UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC).

“UFC thinks I’m the No. 1 contender and that I should be next because there’s no clear contender anyway,” Rakhmonov told Submission Radio through an interpreter. “I have 100 percent finishes in the UFC, so I actually should be next. Everyone else is also very close, but I think they need one or a couple of wins to get this title shot, so I should be next.”

Rakhmonov remains unbeaten in his MMA career and has finished all six opponents he’s faced since joining the UFC in 2020. His most recent win came in December, when he submitted former UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson.

Although Rakhmonov has run through all of his opposition, the Kazakh fighter expects a tough battle against Muhammad, should he get the next title shot.

“I think it will be a very competitive fight,” Rakhmonov said. “I don’t think about it as an easy fight. It’s going to be a hard fight and whoever forces their own style on their opponent is going to win. Even though it’s not going to be easy, I believe I’m going to win in the end.”