Former Champion Kamaru Usman Looks To Take On Shavkat Rakhmonov With Obscure Call Out

Is Kamaru Usman’s cryptic post on social media signaling his long-awaited return to the Octagon?

It’s been over a year since we saw ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ suffer a third straight loss against unbeaten Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. Since then, fans have been eagerly awaiting news of his next fight. While we haven’t quite gotten that just yet, Usman shared a rather curious post on X that could signify a return to action at UFC 310 on December 7.

Earlier this week, it was announced that welterweight champion Belal Muhammad would no longer defend his bantamweight championship at the final pay-per-view of the year after suffering a gnarly bone infection in his foot.

Once the news became official, fighters started coming out of the woodwork looking to step in and square off with Muhammad’s previously scheduled opponent, Shavkat Rakhmonov, in what could end up being an interim title opportunity.

Kamaru Usman likely to get the nod over other fighters vying for an interim title shot

Top 10 ranked contenders Ian Machado Garry and Joaquin Buckley both threw their hats into the ring, hoping they’d be able to capitalize on Muhammad’s bad luck and parlay their active win streaks into a shot at UFC gold.

Unfortunately for both of them, Kamaru Usman is also interested in that spot, and given his status as a former champion and the division’s No. 2 ranked contender, it’s far more likely we’ll see the Nigerian get the nod over a couple of still-rising stars.

Before his recent string of losses, Kamaru Usman had won 21 straight fights dating back to 2013. Along the way, he captured the 170-pound title and successfully defended it five times against Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, and Gilbert Burns.