UFC welterweight shares brutally honest prediction for potential Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov clash: "His balance seems to be very off"

A UFC welterweight has put forth their prediction for Shavkat Rakhmonov's potential fight against Belal Muhammad. Additionally, the veteran MMA fighter also weighed in on Rakhmonov's most recent octagon appearance, a unanimous decision victory against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 310 (Dec. 7, 2024).

The fighter in question is Garry's former opponent, kickboxing savant and ex-Bellator star Michael 'Venom' Page. Taking to his YouTube channel, the British striking wizard reacted to the Rakhmonov-Garry showdown.

Many fans expected grappling specialist Shavkat Rakhmonov, who's also known to possess fearsome KO power, would dominantly defeat his training partner-turned-rival Garry. However, the fight ended up being much closer than expected, with 'The Future' even seemingly coming close to submitting Rakhmonov in round five.

Page alluded to the closely contested fight and lauded the Irishman's defensive wrestling against Kazakhstan's Rakhmonov. He further indicated that anyone looking at the fight likely won't view 'Nomad' as the terrifying force he was thought to be before.

The 37-year-old, who was himself out-grappled en route to a razor-thin unanimous decision defeat against Garry in June 2024, opined that the UFC 310 fight wasn't a great showing by Garry or Rakhmonov. Page stated:

"[Ian Garry's] defensive wrestling was great. I have to say Rakhmonov couldn't kind of get anything. Rakhmonov's fitness -- landed some good shots, but then his fitness and muscular endurance definitely let him down. His balance seems to be very off. This was definitely not, by far not, the best Rakhmonov we've seen."

Initially, Shavkat Rakhmonov was to face UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad for the title at UFC 310, but Muhammad was ruled out due to a bone infection in his left foot. Rakhmonov then fought Garry in a title eliminator at the event.

Appearing to reference the same, Page explained that if that version of Rakhmomov had fought Muhammad, the latter would've handily beaten him. 'Venom,' who's reportedly fighting Shara Magomedov in February 2025, asserted:

"Honestly, this Shavkat -- and I actually said it last time -- I said if these two [Muhammad and Rakhmonov] fought, actually I was going against the grain and saying Belal. But a hundred percent now, this Shavkat here, if he had fought Belal, Belal was munching him, yamming him for breakfast."

Check out Michael Page's comments below (15:48 and 16:48):

---

Belal Muhammad addresses possible Shavkat Rakhmonov fight after his win over Ian Machado Garry

Shavkat Rakhmonov handed Ian Machado Garry his first professional MMA defeat. Following that, reports emerged that the unbeaten Rakhmonov's performance was hindered by an MCL injury heading into the event.

Regardless, many believe that the Kazakh fighter has likely earned a title shot against Belal Muhammad, with whom he had a post-fight face-off inside the octagon.

Speaking to The Schmo, Muhammad subsequently opined that he's better than Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Garry, and everyone else in the 170-pound division. Vowing to prove it when he returns, 'Remember the Name' warned that he's going to dominate 'Nomad' in their expected fight:

"Before this fight even happened, I thought I was going to dominate him [Rakhmonov]. So now I got extra 25 minutes to break him down even more, and I came to the same conclusion."

Watch Belal Muhammad's assessment below (1:44):