UFC 310: Ian Machado Garry steps up to one of MMA's biggest ...

Michael Bolton

18 fights, 18 wins, 18 finishes, Shavkat Rhakmonov is a daunting challenge for anyone, but one that Ian Machado Garry had no hesitation signing up to.

Originally scheduled to be Belal Muhammad's first defence of his welterweight title against Rhakmonov, injury to Muhammad meant the UFC were searching for a new opponent.

While many were asked, many declined, but the Dublin fighter steppes up on a matter of weeks to face one of the most difficult tasks in MMA- find a way to defeat Shavkat Rhakmonov.

Undefeated and avoided by many in the division, Rhakmonov. can pull a submission out of nowhere, and has shows to have the power in his hands and kicks to end the fight at any time.

[caption id="attachment_1704530" align="alignnone" width="892"]img Photo: Sofascore.[/caption]

With danger from so many areas, it will be by far Machado Garry's difficult task. However, as he has shown before, he backs himself against anyone.

If he can keep the fight on the feet and at a distance, it could frustrate Rhakmonov, and the Dublin fighter would be more than happy to make this a technical battle for five rounds.

His last win was against Michael Venom Page at UFC 303, while Rhakmonov has had to wait almost a year since his last fight submitting Stephen Thompson at UFC 296.

The fight will be five rounds as the co-main event for UFC 310, with the winner facing Muhammed next.

Main event

The man event will see Alexandre Pantoja defend his flyweight title against Kai Asakura.

In a rare move, Asakura's first fight in the UFC will be for the title, with the Japanese fighter coming from Risin.

Known for his kickboxing, Asakura will be hoping to keep this fight on the feet, and use his kicks to keep his distance. While winning will be the priority, making UFC fans aware of why they signed him will also be on his mind.

Pantoja is rarely in uneventful fights, and do not expect Saturday to be different.

On a six-fight win streak, Pantoja's last title defence was against Steve Erceg at UFC 301. The Brazilian fighter will likely mix his striking in with takedowns to use his grappling to his advantage to victory.

Heavyweight implications

In a fight that could have big implications for the heavyweight division, Cyril Gane faces Alexander Volkov in a rematch from their 2021 bout.

Since Gane won the fight between them in June 2021, it has been an interesting path to bring them back here.

Gane won the interim heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis two months later, but fell short to Francis Ngannou at UFC 270.

He worked his way back to title contention at UFC 285, but was submitted by Jon Jones.

For Volkov, he is on a four fight win streak since losing to Tom Aspinall in 2022, and a win here could put him in a great position.

Gane is very quick for a heavyweight and uses his kickboxing and movement to victory. While Volkov may not have his speed, his grappling may be an adavntage, an area which Gane has been exposed.

The Russian fighter's jab was used as a serious weapon against Sergi Pavlovich, and could once again be a path to victory.

With Jon Jones undecided if Tom Aspinall, or indeed returement is his next step, a win for either fighter could put them in for a title shot.

Elsewhere on the card, Aljamain Sterling takes on Mosvar Evloev in what will be a key bout in the featherweweight division.

Evloev is undefeated with a 18-0 record, with his wrestling and pressure overwhelming opponents. While he may not have knockout power, he is a puzzle that us yet to be figured out.

For Sterling, he made a successful move up to 145 pounds when he defeated Calvin Kattar after he lost the bantamweight belt to Sean O'Malley.

With Ilia Topuira knocking out both Max Holloway and Alexandre Volkanovski, new faces at the top could be needed, with both fighters styles making potential bouts against Topuria very interesting.