Kamaru Usman shrugs off "nice guy" character to call out Belal Muhammad: "You were barely in rankings"
Kamaru Usman fired back at Belal Muhammad for his recent remarks. Muhammad captured the 170-pound title by defeating Leon Edwards at the recent UFC 304 event. The 36-year-old recently said that he has always believed that he could beat Usman while also naming the Nigerian-American as one of the preferred opponents for his first title defense.
Muhammad's comments seem to have irked Usman, who usually refrains from engaging in trash-talk, as he retaliated with a fiery post on X:
"Alright enough of the nice guy… you were never chasing me Bum. You were barely in rankings when I dominated the division. FYI I have a win over Leon son."
While Muhammad seems confident in his ability to beat Usman, he has also praised the former champion for his achievements. he recently stated that a potential win over 'The Nigerian Nightmare' would be an important addition to his legacy in the sport.
While Muhammad and Usman's rivalry has been heating up with the verbal alteractions, it is not certain if the fight would come to fruition anytime soon. Kazakhstan's Shavkat Rakhmonov, who is currently the No.3-ranked UFC welterweight, is also a frontrunner for the title shot.
Kamaru Usman demands Belal Muhammad to thank him for setting up the blueprint to defeat Leon Edwards
Belal Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards with his dominant wrestling game to become the welterweight champion. Edwards' previous loss in the UFC came against Kamaru Usman, who also took a similar grappling-heavy approach. Interestingly, Usman was cruising to a victory in the rematch with a similar strategy until Edwards caught him with a head kick to get hold of the title.
Reacting to a recent social media video where Muhammad and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev posed for photo-ops, Usman joked that the Dagestani fighter had to teach Muhammad to hold the belt. In response, Muhammad said that Makhachev also taught him to "clean Usman's fingerprints" from the championship belt. The former champion clapped back at the newly crowned champion and wrote:
"Whose blueprint did you copy to help you win that fight? Damn, at least say thank you."
Check out the social media interaction below: