As the newly crowned 170lb king continues to stir up drama with two of the best welterweights in the world, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ is taking a stand as he fires back over, what he claims to be, the ‘delusional’ mindset of a new champion.
Ever since claiming UFC gold and glory in Manchester, ‘Remember the Name’ has been steadfast in his desire to face either former champion Kamaru Usman or the ‘bogeyman’ of the division, Shavkat Rakhmonov, for his first title defense.
Belal Muhammad doubles down on callouts of Usman and Rakhmonov
Speaking to Joe Rogan on the latest episode of the JRE Podcast, Belal Muhammad would double down on his callouts of Usman and Rakhmonov; explaining how each fighter represents a different goal for his career.
“Legacy-wise, Usman is obviously the bigger name and he’s the guy who Dana White said was the best welterweight behind GSP but for bogeyman-wise and to shut up the naysayers, it’s Shavkat.
“He is undefeated, he is the guy that everybody thinks is this killer and then for myself, either one of them does a lot for me – Usman is probably bigger [for] PPV numbers and then [after] beating him, my resume is up there with GSP.”
According to the newly crowned welterweight champion, “Usman is a tougher fight than Shavkat,” something that the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ was keen to echo in his response.
Belal Muhammad discusses whether Kamaru Usman or Shavkat Rakhmonov should be his next title defense:
"Usman obviously for legacy… I think he's still got tread on the tires… name value, he has a bigger name [than Shakat].
But also I want to fight the boogeyman [Shavkat]."… pic.twitter.com/yEFrOLSaT1
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 4, 2024
Kamaru Usman fires back at the welterweight champion over recent comments
Given his competitive nature, the former pound-for-pound best fighter in the world didn’t take too kindly to the various callouts from Muhammad – especially after he released an AI-generated diss track grilling the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’.
“Imagine how I feel?!” laughed Usman on the latest episode of the Pound-4-Pound podcast, as he utilized one of the most famous lines in all of MMA to dismiss Muhammad’s pulling power regarding his first title defense: “I’m like who the f*** is that guy – that’s how I feel.
“I didn’t know who this guy was a couple of years ago, or last year; I didn’t hear his name, and I didn’t even remember his name… But I get it, when you become champion it’s the affirmation of the delusion that you’ve had in your mind thinking that you could get there for all these years.
“So, when you finally get there, you believe that delusion like ‘Oh I am the best, I can do this’ so more power to Belal if that’s how he feels but I mean he paid for someone to do a diss song.”
If you missed that bit of news last week, Muhammad really did share an AI-generated diss track roasting Usman; to which co-host Henry Cejudo noted “Belal’s doing a hell of a good job f***** trolling [you].”
Belal Muhammad really dropped an AI song grilling Kamaru Usman 😭😭
🎵 "He's lost three fights in a row, his knees are giving in. Leon dropped him with a headshot, left him wondering when."
🎥 @bullyb170 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/P1Pg1rjzKl
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 27, 2024
Unsurprisingly, Usman had his own response to the diss track locked and loaded as he sent a stark warning to the newly minted 170lb champion.
“That song is as corny as canned beef and [talking of] looking at golden belts – I have six of them in the room next door… Six of them, so yeah, I can look at belts all day and if I want his belt, I’m coming to take his belt.”
“At some point, he’s going to have to step in there with me and we’re going to settle it… Keep dropping corny weak diss tracks if that’s what you want to call it, it was like a nice country lullaby for me.”
Even though Usman is currently on a three-fight losing streak, the 20-4 veteran was keen to remind fans that he’s never afraid of taking a risk and how that’s something Muhammad could take heed of as he stalls a decision on who’s next.
“If the champion decides to fight sometime in the next year, two years, then we’ll both [Usman and Shavkat] fight the champion but if the champion is not deciding to fight then the division is going to have to move on.
“I’m scared of no one, on less than nine days’ notice I flew to the other side of the world to fight supposedly the scariest guy [in Khamzat Chimaev] – I’m scared of no one.”
