Belal Muhammad made his presence recognized at UFC 310. After a slight delay.
The reigning welterweight champion was cageside for Saturday’s occasion at T-Cell Enviornment in Las Vegas and after Shavkat Rakhmonov defeated Ian Machado Garry within the co-main occasion, the undefeated Rakhmonov referred to as for Muhammad to face off with him contained in the octagon.
There was one snag: Safety didn’t appear to acknowledge Muhammad—wearing informal clothes and a backwards baseball cap—at first.
That’s no less than how in-cage interviewer Joe Rogan interpreted it, as he mentioned into the stay microphone, “Safety doesn’t know he’s the champ. Let him in.”
It was solely a slight hiccup as shortly afterward, Muhammad and Rakhmonov had been engaged in a respectful faceoff.
That didn’t cease a handful of fighters from commenting on the scenario, together with former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor, who posted a voice be aware to social media that he later deleted.
“The safety doesn’t know he’s the champ!” McGregor mentioned within the be aware, cackling. “Have a look at the state of this c*nt. The safety doesn’t know he’s the champ. I’m not stunned, mom f*cker. He’s an assh*le. Shut your mouth, you little dope, you barely bought into the ring. They don’t even know you had been the champ, you tic. Who’s this f*cking man? ‘Who the f*ck is that man?’ the safety mentioned.”
Watch the incident beneath together with McGregor’s commentary, courtesy of @combat2747.
Muhammad was initially scheduled to defend his title towards Rakhmonov within the UFC 310 primary occasion, however was compelled out of the competition with a foot an infection. Garry stepped in on quick discover to take his place, whereas a flyweight title bout between champion Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura was promoted to the principle occasion.
It isn’t but recognized when Muhammad vs. Rakhmonov might be formally booked.
As for McGregor, he’s nonetheless but to compete since breaking his leg in a July 2021 loss to longtime rival Dustin Poirier. This previous November, McGregor was discovered liable in a civil swimsuit stemming from an alleged sexual assault in December 2018. He’s to pay the sufferer, Nikita Hand, over $250,000 in damages plus as much as $1.05 million in authorized charges. Justice Alexander Owens additionally warned that McGregor might be charged with contempt of court docket after publicly criticizing the decision on social media.
