Belal Muhammad slams Ilia Topuria, calling him "Georgian Colby" over Rakhmonov fight jab: "Didn’t this dork just buy a fake BMF belt"
Ilia Topuria has not entered the octagon since February when he defeated Alexander Volkanovski via second-round knockout to capture the featherweight title at UFC 298. Ahead of his first title defense against Max Holloway at UFC 308 later this month, 'El Matador' shared his prediction for the welterweight title bout between Belal Muhammad and Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Speaking on Instagram Live, Topuria predicted that 'Nomad' would dethrone 'Remember the Name' at UFC 310, stating:
"Belal vs. Shavkat? Shavkat. Belal, he's a fake champion. I think right now in the welterweight division, the one who will come back and will take the belt again it's Kamaru Usman, in my opinion. Easy work for Usman."
His comments led Muhammad to fire back, comparing Topuria to Colby Covington:
"Didn’t this dork just buy a fake bmf belt to pose with.. he’s starting to become the Georgian version of Colby Covington"
The featherweight champion, in turn, gave the welterweight champion a new nickname, tweeting:
"Belal “Crotch sniffer” Muhammad"
Check out Ilia Topuria's comments and Belal Muhammad's response below:
Topuria labeling Muhammad as a fake champion comes days after the latter called him out over his comments targeting Islam Makhachev. 'El Matador' claimed that if he met the lightweight champion in the streets, he would be responsible for paying his medical bills.
Belal Muhammad previously took aim at Ilia Topuria
Ilia Topuria previously shared his interest in facing Islam Makhachev, leading Belal Muhammad to fire back. Speaking to Helen Yee, the welterweight champion stated:
"Be careful what you wish for, right? If you're Ilia, I would - you got a lot of guys in your division you still have to fight. Ilia's getting to that point, right, where you're undefeated, you're getting a lot of hype, so now you're starting to call out and play that game of trying to be the next [Conor] McGregor, but you don't want to mess with Islam and them because, like they said, it's different there."
He continued:
"If you want a street fight, they'll street fight you. Islam doesn't care about, 'oh, let's get paid for it'. He sees you, you disrespected him, he's going to show you what disrespect means from Dagestan."
Check out Belal Muhammad's previous comments on Ilia Topuria below:
Topuria has expressed interest in facing Makhachev for double-champ status after his UFC 308 clash with Max Holloway. It is unclear if the UFC will have interest in allowing 'El Matador' such an opportunity after just one title defense, assuming he can get past the 'BMF' champion and retain his featherweight title.