Ian Garry fights Shavkat Rakhmonov in crucial UFC 310 clash – live

Bruce Buffer with the fighter introductions. Five rounds scheduled here. And off we go.

Both men stand orthodox. Rakhmonov presses forward. There aren’t many strikes thrown before Rakhmonov starts a clinch. He has Garry against the fence, and the Irishman is defending well so far.

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

Garry eventually gets out of the clinch and kicks low. Hard right cross by Rakhmonov!! Garry sticks his tongue out, but that jolted his head back!

The pair clinch again in the final 20 seconds of the round, which should be scored for Shavkat.

Garry with some oblique kicks and other low kicks. Decent jab, too. Now Rakhmonov with a stinging jab of his own.

Another fine jab by Rakhmonov, and a low kick by Garry. Neither man is overly committing, though. It’s all been quite chess-like. More jabs and low kicks.

A couple more nice crosses by Shavkat, and this time Garry starts a clinch, holding the Kazakh against the cage wall. Rakhmonov soon reverses the position.

Eventually the pair separate. Rakhmonov lands a spinning back fist! That right side of Garry’s face is already a bit marked up. A left hook just about gets through, too.

Time for the co-main event, the fight which the majority of fans are most excited for tonight…

Ian Machado Garry (15-0, 8 stoppages) faces Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0, 18 stoppages).

Both are unbeaten, and the winner will be next for welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.

Rakhmonov, 30, was actually due to challenge Muhammad tonight, but the champ withdrew due to a bone infection.

So, Machado Garry, 30, steps in to face the Kazakh – one of his former sparring partners, who submitted Machado Garry back in the day.

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

Muhammad is watching this one from ringside.

OH! Volkov with a clean spinning back fist! Wow. Gane seemed to be perturbed by it, but not actually rocked…

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

Gane with a harsh right hand upstairs now, though. He then targets the body. Decent uppercut to the head, and a good cross!

Volkov briefly appears to be in trouble… He’s taken down, and Gane is in side control. He tries a Von Flue choke, but lets go. Volkov is able to escape and stand late in the round.

This one could go either way.

Volkov scores a single-leg takedown, but Gane shrimps out immediately to take the back. Volkov still has the leg, though, so Gane doesn’t fully have the back…

Gane tries a Kimura, but Volkov is defending well. Gane needs to let go; he’s not getting this submission, and the position isn’t advancing at all.

He does let go, but he doesn’t explode out, so Volkov is in control now, throwing light strikes.

We’ll go to the scorecards, where Volkov should get the nod.

Ciryl Gane def. Alexander Volkov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

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

Gane tells Joe Rogan he’s broken some toes.

To the heavyweight division now, where former interim champion Ciryl Gane faces Alexander Volkov, whom he outpointed in 2021.

The winner of this one could be next for reigning interim champ Tom Aspinall, unless the Briton is allowed a chance to unify the belts with Jon Jones. Of course, if Jones avoids Aspinall, the latter will surely be elevated to undisputed champion – meaning Gane or Volkov could even get a shot at the main title next.

Volkov catches a kick and chases Gane to the mat. Gane springs back up, but Volkov has a back body lock and drags the Frenchman down again.

Volkov moves into side control, but he can’t keep Gane down. “Bon Gamin” stands and holds Volkov against the fence, but the Russian eventually breaks free.

Back into the centre of the ring, where Gane initiates a takedown this time! He lifts and dumps Volkov. A grappling exchange ensues, and Gane tries a heel hook – which he famously failed to complete against Francis Ngannou.

Likewise, Volkov escapes. The heavyweights stand and trade in the centre of the cage. Volkov eats a knee to the body but takes down Gane, but Gane jumps a guillotine at the same time… It looks to be in tight, but Volkov survives until the buzzer!

Gracie actually has Nate Diaz in his corner tonight.

Kicks from both fighters; Mitchell’s a little harder. Gracie, in his trademark fashion, jumps and pulls guard from a clinch. That didn’t take long.

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

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

Gracie is losing the striking exchanges, and he looks as though he really doesn’t look getting hit, so he jumps guard again.

Mitchell works in Gracie’s guard but eventually stands and lets him back up. Aaaaaaand Gracie jumps guard again…

Fans told the UFC that this would be an awful fight, and that it was a joke to have it on the main card; and it’s been exactly both of those things. Sterling vs Evloev, which should have been on the main card, was an interesting bout.

Gracie fails an armbar and a triangle.

OH! Gracie jumps guard YET AGAIN, but as soon as they land on the mat, Mitchell finishes Gracies with two vicious elbows!

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

Staying in the featherweight division, it’s Bryce Mitchell vs Kron Gracie.

Fans have questioned why this fight is on the main card, and why Aljamain Sterling vs Movsar Evloev wasn’t.

Mitchell and Gracie are both elite grapplers (the latter coming from the famous Gracie jiu-jitsu family), but neither has impressed recently.

Anyway. Will we see two grapplers turn into strikers in this bout, as often happens?

Mitchell, who said this week he doesn’t believe in seatbelts, 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: brawl. But he throws himself off-balance, and Choi chases him to the mat.

Choi has a crucifix and is landing punches and elbows. He pilessssss on those shots, and eventually the referee steps in! There’s the TKO!

Dooho Choi def. Nate Landwehr via third-round TKO (ground strikes, 3:21)

Onto the UFC 310 main card! A featherweight banger, potentially, with this first match-up: Nate Landwehr vs Dooho Choi.

Landwehr runs across the ring immediately. Choi with a brilliant uppercut. Now a left hook that drops Landwehr to a knee. Another great uppercut. Such clean work by Choi so far, and Landwehr is barely throwing.

Landwehr tries a clinch, but Choi outmanoeuvres him, trips him, and takes the back. He drags down Landwehr, but the American eventually stands and gets free.

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

Nice spinning back elbow by Landwehr, but Choi’s low kicks are working nicely, too.

Lovely throw by Choi, who lands in side control. He steps into mount and thinks about an arm-triangle choke, but opts against it.

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

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

“Him and I have trained every day or twice a day, damn near on average, six days a week since I was 17 years old. And he was my coach, but that was one of the smaller parts of what he was. That guy was my best friend. He was my mentor, older brother, father figure.”

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

Smith adds that it’s “probably” his final fight.

Smith grabs a single-leg after a feeling-out period on the feet, but Reyes is able to slip free.

Decent overhand right for Smith, then we have a brief pause in the action due to an accidental eye poke on Reyes.

Back under way. Both men are landing straight punches. Lead uppercut by Reyes, from a southpaw stance.

Smith walks onto a series of jabs, and Reyes adds some crosses now. Smith felt those.

Trio of stiff jabs by Reyes now, and Smith sticks his tongue out at his fellow American.

Smith goes for a single-leg, but Reyes defends with some nasty elbows! It’s already 42-0 to Reyes in significant strikes in this round!

Smith is kneeling on the mat now, still eating elbows and punches. Reyes moves into half-guard, where he lands more strikes.

Reyes has now reached 127 significant strikes – I believe in the fight, rather than this round.

And referee Marc Goddard finally steps in. Reyes gets the TKO.

Dominick Reyes def. Anthony Smith via second-round TKO (ground strikes, 4:46)