Why is Shavkat Rakhmonov not fighting Belal Muhammad for the title at UFC 315? Dana White gives status update as fan outrage ensues

Dana White recently dropped an update on the UFC 315 fight card and announced the main and co-main bouts for the pay-per-view events.

White revealed that Belal Muhammad will face Jack Della Maddalena in a welterweight title fight in the headliner, with a women's flyweight title clash between Valentina Shevchenko and Manon Fiorot taking place in the co-main event.

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Why is Belal Muhammad fighting Jack Della Maddalena instead of Shavkat Rakhmonov?

While some were hyped to hear Dana White announce the Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena fight, many were upset at the welterweight king not facing Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 315.

While the Australian was initially booked against Leon Edwards for UFC London in March, he was replaced by Sean Brady and moved into the title challenger spot for UFC 315 in May. Given that Rakhmonov was expected to face Muhammad for the 170-pound title, many were taken aback by the Muhammad-Della Maddalena fight being made official.

After @ufccanada shared the announcement via an Instagram post, fans flocked to the comments section to express their outrage.

One fan wrote:

"What happened to Belal vs. Shavkat?? That's what we've all been waiting for."

Another fan wrote:

"WHERE'S SHAVKAT?"

Check out some more comments below:

Screenshots from @ufccanada on Instagram

As the fan frenzy raged on, Rakhmonov revealed the reason behind him not facing Muhammad at UFC 315 and explained that an injury forced him out of the matchup. In an X post, the 30-year-old wrote:

"Big thanks to the UFC for offering me the shot at the belt first. Unfortunately, due to injury, I won’t be ready for May. I’ll be facing the winner later this year!"

Rakhmonov has an impressive, undefeated record of 19-0 and is coming off a victory over Ian Garry Machado at UFC 310 last December. The Kazakh was initially expected to fight Muhammad for the title, but the champ was forced out of the bout due to a bone infection. He was later replaced by the Irish striking savant.