The final pay-per-view card of 2024 for the world's leading MMA promotion is upon us UFC 310 takes over Las Vegas on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena.
Although the card lost its original headliner due to an injury to welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, the replacement main card remains creatively strong, as does the number of familiar names on the undercard.
The only title fight on the card will take place in the main event as flyweight king Alexandre Pantoja seeks his third defense against UFC newcomer Kai Asakura.
Let's take a closer look at the biggest storylines coming this weekend.
1. Ian Machado Garry's quest for greatness has become the main attraction of the card
When welterweight top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov initially found himself in the main event against Muhammad, the central storyline was his long-awaited march to the 170-pound title (and the question of whether or not the new champion could put up enough resistance). But Mohammed's withdrawal moved Rakhmonov to the co-main event in a non-title fight, which opened the door for Garry to go 15-0, without question facing the toughest test of his career. Despite a solid trio of wins in the last 16 months against veterans Neil Magny, Geoff Neal and Michael “Venom” Page, the Rahkmonov fight shows the 27-year-old Garry is moving all his chips to the middle of the table to find out how great he can really become. In this case, the much-maligned Garry deserves great respect for his courage and opportunism. And while Garry is a roughly 3-1 underdog against his fellow unbeaten opponent, the Rakhmonov fight offers him a chance to gain overnight credibility and become a bona fide star should he claim victory against the division's uncrowned champion, the all He completed his 18 rounds with professional opponents. It's one thing when a promotion or fan base proclaims a fighter a star before he actually deserves it. But it's quite another thing to achieve the same fame the old-fashioned way, by entering such a dangerous battle as an underdog and betting on yourself.
2. Shavkat Rakhmonov takes a risk few others would take
For an 18-0 fighter who had already secured a shot at Muhammad's welterweight title, Rakhmonov's decision to stay on the card and face Garry in a No. 1 contendership fight would be a crazy idea to most. But few fighters in UFC history can match the Uzbekistan-born Kazakh fighter's scary nature. Not only does he enjoy the delicacy of horse meat above all else (the animal being his favorite), Rakhmonov was also seen going to the cage in his early regional fights with the hides of animals he himself had hunted and executed. Rakhmonov is equally scientifically barbaric in the way he breaks down and finishes off his opponents. Considering Rakhmonov has exhibited absolute dominance in the Octagon six times, it's perhaps not surprising that Rakhmonov believes he can beat any 170-pound fighter on the planet, which doesn't make it all that difficult, Muhammad coming on for Garry. But how many other elite fighters would have seized the exact same opportunity from a business perspective? (For the record: The correct answer in this case is almost none.)
3. Alexandre Pantoja is quickly becoming one of the most important UFC champions
Consider the above sentence in a way that few would have really thought about in the past. But in a division so known for parity and the idea that anyone can win the title on any given night, Pantoja has become absolutely consistent. And with the UFC now wrapping up its calendar year with another major event, Pantoja is expected to headline his second PPV card in 2024 alone, as so many other top names didn't make a second appearance due to injuries and other concerns all year. Pantoja has also provided a rare level of stability at the top of the flyweight rankings after his close decision over another UFC newcomer in Steve Erceg in May extended his current winning streak to six. What's even more impressive is that Pantoja is currently 9-0 against fighters ranked in the top 10 in the 125-pound division. For a 34-year-old fighter who is a veteran of 33 pro fights and 15 walks to the Octagon, Pantoja has also been able to shake off a large amount of accumulated damage – including his brutal title win over Brandon Moreno in July 2023 – and continue to find new ways to winning in close fights.
4. Kai Asakura had some red carpet luck in his UFC debut
As a two-time former RIZIN bantamweight champion and one of the world's best fighters yet to step foot in the Octagon, the 31-year-old Asakura would already be making a big splash if he were to make his UFC debut. However, this enthusiasm was likely limited to the more hardcore sections of the UFC fanbase. But when you combine the injury to Muhammad, UFC 310's original headliner, and the fact that Pantoja has quickly eliminated the top end of the division (which would require finding fresh meat to defend his title), it became Asakura's debut priority release. Add to that the fact that UFC has recently struggled to fill the main and co-main events of its PPV cards with enough star power to justify increasingly exorbitant ticket prices, and you have the perfect recipe. that Asakura will be treated to the red carpet in his first UFC walk, in the main event of the final PPV card of 2024 from Las Vegas. Luckily for fans, Asakura has an exciting style and should find himself in a shootout with Pantoja. Either way, Asakura has been given the best possible opportunity to get his name out there quickly as he looks to become the rare modern fighter to make his debut in a UFC title fight.
5. Aljamain Sterling fighting on the preliminary card makes no sense
Imagine being a former champion of the sport's top division who has defended the bantamweight title against the likes of Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo over the past two years. Then imagine that after losing your title to Sean O'Malley and rebounding with a big win in your featherweight debut against veteran Calvin Kattar, your next fight was seven fights away from the main event and buried on the preliminary card . That's the reality for Sterling, a 35-year-old who is still among the 15 to 20 best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but somehow lost a spot on the PPV card to the mercurial Kron Gracie (who hasn't since won more) lost in 2019) and Doo-hoo Choi (who has only had one win since 2016). Yes, Sterling isn't always the most exciting fighter. But this matchup against 18-0 fighter Movsar Evloev is easily the third most important fight on the UFC 310 card based on what a win could do for either fighter in their respective divisions. Evloev is fresh off three big wins over Dan Ige, Diego Lopes and Arnold Allen and heads into this clash of top 10 fighters at 145 pounds. And Sterling could very well become a dark title contender given his history and name value if he adds Evloev's name alongside Kattar to his growing featherweight resume. It's a great fight with a lot at stake, and yet almost no one talks about it. Sterling deserves better.
