Dana White has addressed speculation about the
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title picture.
Unbeaten contenders Shavkat
Rakhmonov and Michael
Morales have hinted at a potential matchup, while Carlos
Prates is considered the front-runner to challenge champion
Islam
Makhachev next. The UFC CEO stopped short of confirming either
bout but said more announcements were coming.
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Dana White addresses 19-0 Shavkat Rakhmonov and Michael Morales
as UFC welterweight title picture takes shape
Both Rakhmonov and Morales have fueled speculation on social media.
Asked about their rumored matchup and the welterweight title
picture after
Week 10 of
Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10, White offered few
details.
“Could be, could be… If it was done, we would announce it, but
yeah, we actually have a lot of cool stuff going on right now that
we went over yesterday,” White said. “Yeah, we got a lot of good
announcements coming up.”
Rakhmonov hasn’t competed since defeating Ian Garry in
December 2024, with recurring knee injuries keeping him sidelined.
Morales has finished his last three opponents — Neil Magny,
Gilbert
Burns and Sean Brady —
in the first round. Both contenders are 19-0.