UFC 310: Previewing the Biggest and Best Fights Set for Las Vegas
The final UFC pay-per-view of 2024 is right around the corner, and there is no denying it's absolutely stacked.
UFC 310 goes down this Saturday in Las Vegas. It was originally set to be headlined by a welterweight title fight between champ Belal Muhammad and undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov, but Muhammad was unfortunately forced out of the matchup with a foot injury. Rakhmonov then agreed to meet fellow unbeaten contender Ian Machado Garry in the card's new co-main event, while the original co-main event, a flyweight title fight between champ Alexandra Pantoja and challenge Kai Asakura, moved into the top spot.
It's not quite as good as what we were originally in for, but the headliners we ended up with still look incredible on paper, and the rest of the card offers plenty of support. The line-up is riddled with relevant contenders and former title challengers—even a couple of former champs.
It was admittedly tough to narrow it down, but here are the six best matchups set for the UFC's year-end blockbuster in Las Vegas this Saturday.
Nate Landwehr vs. Doo Ho Choi
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The winner of Doo Ho Choi and Nate Landwehr's UFC 310 main card featherweight fight isn't going to turn into a serious title contender overnight, but the pair are two of the most reliable action fighters in the weight class. Whomever comes out on top, their fight is bound to be thrilling for as long as it lasts.
South Korea's Choi, who has unfortunately been sidelined by injuries and military service for much of his recent career, is riding an impressive stoppage win over Bill Algeo. It was the 12th knockout win of his career, and it put some more distance between him and the three-fight losing streak he was riding at the end of 2019.
Landwehr is a finisher too, with nine wins by knockout or TKO. In his last fight, he scored an impressive first-round stoppage of Jammall Emmers, which distanced him from a disappointing decision loss to Dan Ige.
Landwehr is a slight betting favorite, according to DraftKings, but the UFC is going to want to get the bonus checks ready for this one either way.
Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
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We mentioned there are a couple of former champions scattered across the UFC 310 lineup. One of the two is France's Ciryl Gane, who briefly held the UFC's interim heavyweight title in 2021. He'll be returning to the Octagon for a rematch with towering Russian veteran Alexander Volkov, who he defeated by decision before he became a champion.
It will be Gane's first fight since he dominated Sergei Spivac to a second-round stop in Paris in September of 2023—a win that separated him from a lopsided submission loss to Jon Jones. Despite his recent inactivity, he remains one of the top contenders in the weight class and will be well-positioned for a title shot if he wins—though Jones and current interim champ Tom Aspinall clearly need to unify their titles first.
The same is true for Volkov.
The Russian, a former Bellator champ, is riding four-straight wins over ranked opponents, having not lost since he was submitted by Aspinall in March of 2022. He's yet to contend for a UFC title, but could finally change that if he evens the score with Gane.
Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
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This is a fight B/R called for after Dominick Reyes corrected a four-fight losing streak with a knockout win over Dustin Jacoby back in June. It makes all the sense in the world for both guys.
It's actually surprising that Reyes and Anthony Smith, both former light heavyweight title challengers, haven't fought yet. They've been floating around the division's top 15 for years and have fought the bulk of their rivals, but they've somehow managed to avoid bumping into each other until now.
Reyes, as we've covered, will enter the fight having recently stopped Jacoby in a performance that most likely saved him his job with the UFC. Smith, meanwhile, hasn't fought since he lost a decision in a short-notice fight with middleweight contender Roman Dolidze in June. That win was preceded by a quick submission win over Vitor Petrino, but he still needs a win this weekend if he wants to stay relevant at 205 pounds.
He and Reyes are ranked No. 13 and 12, respectively, but we can assume the loser of this fight is most likely out of the title picture for good. It's a big fight for the light heavyweight division, and it's arguably far more deserving of a spot on the main card than a featherweight fight between Bryce Mitchell and Kron Gracie, the latter of whom is frankly irrelevant, having not won a fight since a year before the pandemic began.
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Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev
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Speaking of fights that deserve a main card spot over Mitchell and Gracie's inconsequential fight, how about this undercard featherweight scrap between former bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling and the undefeated Movsar Evloev? These are two of the top fighters in the division right now. What are they doing so low on the bill? It's pure disrespect.
Sterling is one of the best bantamweights of all time, and after a lopsided decision win over Calvin Kattar in his featherweight debut—also relegated to the undercard at UFC 300—he's now closing in on a title in a second weight class.
Evloev, meanwhile, is unbeaten in 18 fights, including eight in the UFC, where he has defeated top contenders like Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, and Arnold Allen. He's not a very exciting fighter, but it's arguable that he already deserves a shot at champion Ilia Topuria. If he defeats Sterling, which the oddsmakers are confident he'll do, he will be very hard to deny.
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry
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It's too bad Shavkat Rakhmonov isn't getting a title shot, but his UFC 310 co-headlining fight with fellow undefeated welterweight Ian Machado Garry is a nice consolation prize, and if he wins, it's just about guaranteed he'll be rebooked to fight the champ Belal Muhammad as soon as possible.
Rakhmonov, from Kazakhstan, is 18-0 with a staggering 100 percent finishing rate, including 10 submissions and eight knockouts. Highlights of his six-fight run in the UFC include submissions over top-15 staples Neil Magny, Geoff Neal, and most recently, former two-time title challenger Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.
Garry hasn't been quite so impressive, but also looks like a future champion after a perfect 15-0 start to his MMA career. He's won eight fights in the UFC. Five of those have been by decision, but he's faced a solid slate of opposition, including Magny, Neal, and former Bellator champ Michael "Venom" Page.
He looks primed for an upset against the top contender, and the matchup is all the more interesting considering the pair have actually trained together in Florida. They know each other pretty well, and that could definitely play a part in what's already a fascinating matchup.
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura
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It's pretty unusual for a fighter to get a title shot in the UFC debut, but Kai Asakura is not your typical fighter.
A former bantamweight champion in Japan's RIZIN Fighting Federation, he is a big star in his home country. That's due in part to his charisma, but it's primarily thanks to his fan-friendly fighting style. A walking counterargument to the foolish notion that flyweights don't have knockout power, he has finished 13 of his 21 wins with strikes. That includes victories over top-flight opponents like Juan Archuleta, Hiromasa Ougikubo, Kyoji Horiguchi and Ulka Sasaki. He punched Sasaki so hard that he shattered his jaw. He even fought his own brother.
He is wholly capable of knocking out reigning UFC flyweight champion Alexandra Pantoja — but it's not going to be easy. The eternally underrated Pantoja has looked incredible of late, having defended the flyweight belt with wins over tough contenders in Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg. Other highlights of his recent resume include a title-winning decision over Brandon Moreno and defeats of Alex Perez and another former RIZIN star in Manel Kape. As it stands, he is 9-0 against current top-15 UFC flyweights. He has also never been knocked out, despite an ever-increasing willingness to engage in wild slugfests in the cage.
This one could be over in a blink, or it could turn into a five-round bloodbath. Either way, it's going to be good.
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