Belal Muhammad has been forced to withdraw from his clash with Shavkat Rakhmonov, leaving the door open for Alex Pereira to swoop in and save UFC 310.

 

The two welterweights were scheduled to lock horns in a mouthwatering main-event on December 7, until the champion revealed a severe toe injury he sustained during training.

 

And so, while Belal Muhammad comes off a comprehensive display to dethrone Leon Edwards against the odds back in July, he must now wait several months before making his first title defense.

 

Instead, a light heavyweight clash between two-division champion Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev has been mooted as a possible replacement for the UFC 310 headliner.

 

Alex Pereira reacts to Belal Muhammad’s withdrawal on social media

Elsewhere on the UFC 310 card in Las Vegas, Nevada, bona fide flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja will make the third defense of his title against Kai Asakura.

 

But still, while it will be interesting to see Asakura’s debut with MMA’s flagship promotion, the UFC’s end-of-year show could certainly do with a boost to wet fans’ appetites following Muhammad’s withdrawal.

 

A new main-event, of course, has not yet been announced, with the news of Muhammad’s bone infection only emerging yesterday.

 

Even so, MMA star Pereira has been widely rumored to take center stage in Sin City, while his fiercely anticipated heavyweight debut seemingly gets put on the back burner.

 

Nevertheless, recent reports have suggested that the Brazilian is set to collide with the UFC’s number one light heavyweight contender, Magomed Ankalaev, in an intriguing dustup.