Another top-10 fighter has stepped up to replace the UFC champion and face Rahmonov in the octagon.

The ninth-ranked UFC fighter in the welterweight division, American (20-6), has expressed his willingness to compete at UFC 310 in place of the former champion (24-3) and face the Kazakh fighter (18-0), as reported by Vesti.kz.

Buckley is confident that he has more justification for this matchup than Irishman Ian Machado Gary (15-0), who is ranked two spots higher and has also challenged "Nomad."

"Nobody wants to see a fight [Rakhmonov against Gary]," Buckley stated in a video posted on social media. "The fans want to see knockouts; they crave early finishes, and that’s exactly what will happen in my fight with Shavkat. He has 18 early victories: ten by submission and eight by knockout. I have 14 knockouts, and I recently knocked out two opponents who were in the rankings. What do you think I’ll do with this guy? UFC, you need to make this fight happen."

Let’s remember that Muhammad withdrew from the bout against Rakhmonov, which was scheduled for December 7 in Las Vegas. For Belal, this was supposed to be his first title defense, while for Shavkat, it would have been his first fight in 2024.

The title fight Rakhmonov - Muhammad has been canceled: UFC found replacements for them.