Newly crowned UFC welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad has revealed who the tougher opponent is, Kamaru Usman or the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov. While the ‘Nomad’ seems unbeatable, boasting exceptional striking and submission games, it’s a no-brainer for Belal Muhammad to pick the former champion.
In an exclusive to Submission Radio, the 36-year-old revealed his thoughts when asked about who among the two will be a tougher fight. Dropping his thoughts, he got down straight to the point before he gave his analysis, he said,
“A harder fight? Honestly, I’d say Kamaru (Usman) just because he has fought in the highest level so long and stylistically he has one of the best IQs in the game. So, I think for me, fighting somebody with the close to an IQ myself will be a harder fight.”
In fact, it wasn’t even a tough question for Belal. Reflecting on Usman’s short-notice fight against Khamzat Chimaev in Abu Dhabi and the former’s performance, Belal said that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ would be a tough opponent.
He also mentioned that Usman had been competing at the highest level for quite a long time and this in turn has garnered him a vast ocean of experience.
He then mentioned the former champ’s performance against Chimaev. Despite going up a division to middleweight, Usman took on the challenge on short notice and gave the Chechen a run for his money.
Meanwhile, the online barb between him and the Kazakh has taken another turn after Rakhmonov accused the champion of “selective memory.”
Belal fires back at Rakhmonov for ‘selective memory’ rant
The welterweight division is turning out to be a firestorm after champion, Belal Muhammad and #3 ranked contender Shavkat Rakhmonov started trading verbal jabs at each other after the Palestinian-American won the belt defeating Leon Edwards at UFC 304.
Digging up the past to trash the Belal, the Kazakh fighter alleged that Belal is being inactive to which, Belal reminded Rakhmonov that he was the one who hasn’t fought anyone since 2023.
Rakhmonov responded with a cheeky tweet, accusing him of selective memory before reminding him that he didn’t fight anyone for 14 months before his title shot. Belal’s response came quickly with a pinch of sarcasm.
He attached a screenshot of a Google translation, essentially alleging that someone is tweeting for Rakhmonov while he is simply hiding behind the shadows.
“Selective memory ? Who’s tweeting for you bro there’s no translation for that in Kazakh.”
Selective memory ? Who’s tweeting for you bro there’s no translation for that in Kazakh https://t.co/cdgcXvNDYk pic.twitter.com/aKJOTnI4jq
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) September 1, 2024
In fact, Belal at this point seems like he wants to live off his riches and soak it all in before he defends his belt and has asked the matchmakers to pit Usman and Rakhmonov against each other for the #1 contender so that the champ can defend his belt against the best.
