UFC 310 gets title double-header: Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov and Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura

The UFC’s end-of-year show in Las Vegas will feature a pair of championship matchups, with the welterweight and flyweight titles on the line at T-Mobile Arena.

UFC CEO Dana White announced that the December 7 event will be headlined by a battle for the undisputed 170-pound title, with newly-crowned champion Belal Muhammad taking on surging Kazakhstani contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Muhammad completed his longtime quest for a UFC title when he earned his title shot against Leon Edwards, then dethroned him with a superb, gritty performance at UFC 304 in Manchester, England earlier this summer.

Now he’s going to turn around and put his newly-won title on the line before the end of the calendar year as he takes on undefeated contender Rakhmonov, who submitted two-time title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 296 to put himself in the frame for a shot at the title.

The 29-year-old has waited patiently for his shot while Muhammad and Edwards faced off for the belt, but now he gets his chance to challenge for UFC championship gold for the first time.

Also confirmed for the December 7 card is a flyweight title bout as reigning 125-pound champion Alexandre Pantoja welcomes former RIZIN FF bantamweight champion Kai Asakura to the UFC as the Japanese star gets an immediate shot at the title.

Pantoja is riding a six-fight win streak, with wins over Manel Kape, Brandon Royval (twice), Alex Perez, Brandon Moreno and Steve Erceg. Now he’ll face fresh opposition in the form of former RIZIN champ Asakura, who arrives in the UFC with a 21-4 record that includes a win over Juan Archuleta in his last fight for the Japanese promotion.

The card also sees the return of a mixed martial arts legend, with Nick Diaz confirmed to face Vicente Luque in a welterweight matchup.