UFC 310 LIVE: Ian Garry vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov updates and results following Kai Asakura’s debut

Garry has defended well most of the time but he still needs to get more offense going. Shavkat controlled much of the action and landed the flashier punches.

Rakhmonov barely lands a head kick. Garry repeatedly steps down. Rakhmonov lands a short right hook, but Garry responds with one of his own.

The fighters are now opening up a little more. Another clinch along the fence as the welterweights trade dominance back and forth.

Bruce Buffer with the fighter ideas. Five rounds are planned here. And here we go.

Both men are Orthodox. Rakhmonov pushes forward. Not many strikes are thrown before Rakhmonov starts a clinch. He has Garry on the fence and the Irishman has defended well so far.

Rakhmonov with intermittent knees. He almost trips over Garry, who does well to get up. More knees from Rakhmonov. Now Garry almost trips over the Kazakh!

Garry finally gets out of the clinch and kicks low. Hard right cross from Rakhmonov!! Garry sticks out his tongue, but that threw his head back!

The pair wins again in the final 20 seconds of the round, which should count for Shavkat.

Garry with some oblique kicks and other low kicks. A good push too. Now Rakhmonov with a stinging jab.

Another good jab from Rakhmonov and a low kick from Garry. However, neither man is overly committed. It was all pretty chess-like. More jabs and low kicks.

A few more nice crosses from Shavkat, and this time Garry starts a clinch and holds the Kazakh against the cage wall. Rakhmonov soon reverses the position.

Eventually the couple separates. Rakhmonov lands a spinning back fist! The right side of Garry’s face is already somewhat drawn. A left hook also barely gets through.

Time for the co-main event, the fight most fans are most looking forward to tonight…

Ian Machado Garry (15-0, 8 interceptions) meets Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0, 18 interceptions).

Both are undefeated and the winner will be welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.

The 30-year-old Rakhmonov was scheduled to face Muhammad tonight, but the champion withdrew due to a bone infection.

So 30-year-old Machado Garry steps in to take on the Kazakh – one of his former sparring partners, who gave up on Machado Garry at the time.

Ireland’s Machado Garry has former lightweight king Charles Oliveira in his corner.

Muhammad watches this from the ring.

OH! Volkov with a clean, backwards fist! Wow. Gane seemed disturbed by this, but not really shaken…

Volkov’s punch is so crisp right now. For the second or third time tonight he lands a high kick followed by a jab – a nice combination.

However, Gane now has a hard right hand up top. Then he aims at the body. Neat uppercut to the head and a good cross!

Volkov appears to be in trouble for a moment… He’s out and Gane is in control of the side. He tries a Von Flue choke but lets go. Volkov escapes and is up late in the round.

This one could go either way.

Volkov scores a single leg takedown, but Gane immediately reaches out to take the reverse. However, Volkov still has the leg, so Gane doesn’t have the full back…

Gane tries a kimura, but Volkov defends well. Gane has to let go; He doesn’t get that submission and the position doesn’t progress at all.

He lets go, but it doesn’t explode, so Volkov is now in control and throwing light punches.

Let’s get to the scorecards, where Volkov should get the nod.

Ciryl Gane defeated. Alexander Volkov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

It’s like Sterling vs Evloev again, wow. A pretty clear 29-28 that went the wrong way. Lots of boos in Vegas.

Gane tells Joe Rogan that he broke some toes.

Now it goes to the heavyweight class, where former interim champion Ciryl Gane meets Alexander Volkov, whom he overtook in 2021.

The winner of this contest could be reigning interim champion Tom Aspinall unless the Brit is given the chance to unify the belts with Jon Jones. Of course, if Jones avoids Aspinall, he will certainly become undisputed champion – meaning Gane or Volkov could even have a shot at the main title next.

Volkov catches a kick and drives Gane to the mat. Gane jumps back up, but Volkov has a back body lock and takes the Frenchman down again.

Volkov takes side control but can’t suppress Gane. “Bon Gamin” gets up and pushes Volkov against the fence, but the Russian is finally able to free himself.

Back to the middle of the ring where Gane initiates a takedown this time! He lifts Volkov up and drops him. A tough exchange ensues and Gane attempts a heel hook – which he famously failed to complete against Francis Ngannou.

Likewise, Volkov escapes. The heavyweights stand and act in the middle of the cage. Volkov hits a knee strike to the body but takes down Gane, but Gane jumps for a guillotine at the same time… It looks like it’s close, but Volkov survives until the buzzer sounds!

Gracie actually has Nate Diaz in his corner tonight.

Kicks from both fighters; Mitchell is a little more difficult. Gracie, in his typical fashion, jumps out of a clinch and fights it off. That didn’t last long.

Mitchell lands in half guard and likes to stay there. He ends up in Gracie’s guard and all Gracie does is hold Mitchell.

A pretty uneventful round, as feared. Boos in Las Vegas.

Gracie loses the punches and it looks like he really isn’t going to get hit, so he goes back to guard.

Mitchell works under Gracie’s guard but eventually stands up and lets him back away. Aaaaaand Gracie jumps back on her guard…

Fans told the UFC that this would be a terrible fight and that having it on the main card was a joke; and it was exactly both. Sterling vs. Evloev, which should have been on the main card, was an interesting fight.

Gracie fails an armbar and a triangle.

OH! Gracie dives for the cover AGAIN, but as soon as they hit the mat, Mitchell finishes off Gracie with two vicious elbows!

Bryce Mitchell defeated. Kron Gracie via third-round KO (elbow, 0:39)

Let’s stay at featherweight: Bryce Mitchell vs. Kron Gracie.

Fans have been wondering why this fight is on the main card and why Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev isn’t.

Mitchell and Gracie are both elite grapplers (the latter comes from the famed Gracie Jiu-Jitsu family), but neither has impressed recently.

Anyway. Will this fight, as so often happens, see two grapplers transform into strikers?

Mitchell, who said this week he doesn’t believe in seat belts, sprints to the ring draped in an American flag – and to the sound of “Cotton Eye Joe.”

Landwehr tries to do what he does best: fight. But he loses his balance and Choi chases him to the mat.

Choi has a crucifix and is landing punches and elbows. He picks those shots, and finally the referee intervenes! There’s the TKO!

Dooho Choi defeated. Nate Landwehr via TKO in the third round (ground strikes, 3:21)

On to the UFC 310 main card! Possibly a cracker at featherweight with this first fight: Nate Landwehr vs. Dooho Choi.

Landwehr immediately runs across the ring. Choi with a brilliant uppercut. Now a left hook that drops Landwehr to his knees. Another great uppercut. So far, Choi has done such a clean job, and Landwehr barely throws.

Landwehr tries a clinch, but Choi outmaneuvers him, causes him to fall and takes the back. He pulls Landwehr to the ground, but the American is finally able to stand and free himself.

More success for Choi on the feet. He’s boxing so well tonight.

Nice spin-back elbow from Landwehr, but Choi’s low kicks work well too.

Nice throw from Choi that lands in side control. He gets in mount and thinks about an arm triangle choke but decides against it.

Choi takes the back. He controls the Landwehr for a while until the American explodes free. But back on his feet, in the clinch, Choi trips Landwehr again.

Here’s what Smith told the UFC this week about his late friend and trainer Scott Morton:

“He and I have trained every day or twice a day since I was 17, an average of almost six days a week. And he was my coach, but that was just one of the smaller aspects of who he was. This guy was my best friend. He was my mentor, my older brother and my father figure.”

Now he tells Joe Rogan: “I don’t give a damn about the fight. This guy was my best friend. I thought I could push it down, but I couldn’t even control it when I walked out of here. I don’t know how many times I can do this without him.”

Smith adds that it is “probably” his last fight.