After weeks of waiting to find a replacement opponent for the injured Belal Muhammad, someone finally came through: No. 7 contender Ian Machado Garry. Signed, sealed and delivered, it’s the new co-main event at UFC 310 in Las Vegas this Saturday with Rakhmonov revealing Garry wasn’t the only offer on the table.

There was a lot of speculation that Kamaru Usman would step in to fight the 18-0 Rakhmonov on short notice, although that wouldn’t be the case, nor would Colby Covington, who claimed he would fight Rakhmonov if the UFC came calling just a few weeks ago.

“I wanted to fight Kamaru Usman, but he didn’t accept the fight,” Rakhmonov said. Submission Radio. “Also, they offered (Carlos) Prates, but he was injured. Colby Covington, he rejected the fight. I’m very happy that Ian Garry accepted the fight.”

Rising contender Carlos Prates was an unexpected name in the mix, enjoying massive momentum with 4 KOs in 2024, his latest perennial contender Neil Magny in November. UFC CEO Dana White teased in an interview with Kevin Iole A few weeks ago, the promotion had big plans for Prates, but a broken foot puts the Brazilian on hold for the time being. Prates still wanted to fight despite his injury.

Returning to Kamaru Usman, Rakhmonov says he doesn’t know why the former champion didn’t end up taking the fight – especially with a title shot on the line against new champion Belal Muhammad.

“At first he accepted the fight, but then he rejected it,” Rakhmonov said of Usman. “Maybe he didn’t want to take a risk. Of course he doesn’t want to lose.

“I don’t care about Colby, but yeah, I offered him to fight me,” Rakhmonov added. “But he only talked. When it came to business, he refused…disappeared.”

Colby Covington now fights Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa a week after Rakhmonov, under fire from heated rival Ian Machado Garry for not fighting him instead.

Infamous UFC Biter to Fight Former Champion in Budding Rival’s Promotion