Belal Muhammad explains why he'd rather fight Shavkat Rakhmonov over Kamaru Usman for first title defense
Belal Muhammad recently discussed his future plans as the reigning UFC welterweight champion and explained why he'd rather face Shavkat Rakhmonov than Kamaru Usman for his first title defense.
Muhammad captured the 170-pound strap after putting on a dominant performance against Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July. After five rounds of action, Muhammad won the fight via unanimous decision and took home the welterweight title. Soon after, Usman called out the new champion, and the two have been exchanging verbal jabs on social media and in interviews ever since.
While Usman is widely considered among the greatest welterweight champions of all time and has an impressive resume, many believe his calls for a title shot to be unfounded. Usman is coming off a short-notice majority decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev last October and is on a three-fight losing streak.
During a recent interview with MMA journalist Kevin Iole, Muhammad spoke about his first title defense and dismissed Usman as a potential opponent in favor of Rakhmonov. He said:
"I'd rather have it to be Shavkat. I think he has more aura; I think he has the undefeatedness to him. There's no excuse after beating him... Usman's on a 3-fight losing streak, he's old, he's on his way out. I think he needs another win."
Catch Belal Muhammad's comments below (18:55):
Belal Muhammad trolls Kamaru Usman with "Diddy party" diss
Given their strained relationship, it's no surprise that Belal Muhammad recently took shots at Kamaru Usman, referencing the latest controversy in the music industry.
Usman recently posted a picture of him on Instagram with fellow UFC stars Ignacio Bahamondes and Jared Gordan, with all three sporting tracksuits. Soon after, MMA reporter Aaron Bronsteter shared the image on X and tagged Muhammad in a post captioned:
"@bullyb170 This is some nWo stuff right here."
For context, NWO was a popular pro-wrestling group known for its propensity to switch, acquire, and fire members all the time. This was because Bahamondes and Gordan used to be Muhammad's training partners.
'Remember The Name' responded to Bronsteter's post with a humorous take on rapper P.Diddy's recent controversy and wrote:
"Usman was trying to get them to go to a diddy party."