Belal Muhammad Laughs at Kamaru Usman’s Title Shot Callout: “The guy’s one and three out of his last four!”
Belala Muhammad doesn’t think Kamaru Usman should be anywhere close to a title shot.
Following his dominant performance against Jack Della Maddalena to claim the welterweight world championship, Islam Makhachev suggested the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ for his first title defense at 170.
“If you give me the choice and ask me who you want to fight, I will take Kamaru,” Makhachev said during an appearance on About Last Fight. “But it’s not my job. Anyone, I will be ready…”
Shortly after, Usman reacted to the news, admitting on his Pound-4-Pound podcast that the idea of facing Makhachev “scared” him, but certainly didn’t scoff at the idea of being the first fighter to challenge the ‘Dagestani Destroyer.’
“I almost feel like if there are guys like myself and Islam in the division, you almost feel like if Prates was the champion, what happened to JDM is bound to happen (to Prates),” Usman said. “Someone could do that to them. When I look at a guy like Islam, I don’t really see holes (in his game) and that’s something that scares me and that’s when you see some of the most spectacular performances, the last time I felt that was against Colby Covington.”
Belal Muhammad names the man he wants to see fight Makhachev, and it’s not Kamaru Usman
Getting wind of the back-and-forth between Makhachev and Usman, Muhammad was compelled to speak out, questioning how Usman could be in consideration after generating only one win in the last three years.
“For Usman to talk and act like he deserves a shot, the guy’s one and three out of his last four, and he turned down a fight with me to fight this weekend,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “So, I think he’s automatically marked off. I feel like Shavkat [Rakhmonov] being injured and being out, he’s going to have to get another win.
“I think the front-runner right now is [Michael] Morales, right? The performance he had, the streak he’s on. So, for me, I got to outperform his performance.”
Both Michael Morales and Carlos Prates took giant leaps up the welterweight rankings with their respective knockouts of Sean Brady and Leon Edwards at UFC 322.
In the eyes of many, one of them should be the first man up for Makhachev, but with Usman’s day of competing numbered, the UFC may be compelled to give the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ one more five-rounder before he lays down his gloves for good.
