LOS ANGELES – UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad is targeting Shavkat Rakhmonov in the first half of the year. Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) was expected to face Rakhmonov (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) last month at UFC 310, but a bone infection in his foot forced him out. He recently has been spending time training with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, which has sparked his desire to compete again. Muhammad’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told MMA Junkie that Muhammad should return in May, which works for the champ.