It looks like things are heating up between newly crowned welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and former champion Kamaru Usman! Daniel Cormier recently weighed in on their ongoing back-and-forth, revealing that punches were actually thrown when the two sat down for a podcast together.
Cormier believes this footage is pure gold for hyping a potential title fight between the two, and he thinks it’s the perfect excuse for the UFC to set something up.
With tensions rising and both fighters eager to settle their differences, fans are definitely in for an exciting showdown if this matchup gets the green light.
Cormier revealed this piece of information during his recent podcast with Ben Askren. ‘DC’ said,
“I heard that on that episode, Belal and Kamaru went back and forth cause you know Belal has been giving him the business online. To the point where they got into each other’s faces and punches were thrown. Bro it was in person, fists were thrown. Somewhere Ben, there is footage of this, that in itself is enough to schedule a title fight.”
Belal Muhammad responds to Kamaru Usman:
“You were protected by UFC… now you can barely walk… your podcast sucks… and your part in black panther sucked.” #UFC #MMA https://t.co/klc9kgffjh pic.twitter.com/W63BUZxlhl
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 8, 2024
The two men have been going back and forth on social media ever since Belal won the belt. The newly crowned champion was quick to dismiss the likes of Usman and ‘GSP’ and brand himself the better champion without any defenses to his name.
This did not sit well with Usman who fired back and since then the two men have been locked in a war of words. ‘Remember the name is open to a fight with both Usman and Rakhmonov, but states that he prefers the ‘boogeyman’ over ‘old’ Usman for his first title defense.
Belal wants Rakhmonov as first title defense
Belal is still waiting for the UFC to announce his next fight, but if he had his way, he’d choose Shavkat Rakhmonov. The newly crowned welterweight champion expects to defend his title soon, and the two top contenders in the mix are the undefeated Rakhmonov and former champion Kamaru Usman.
The Palestinian-American recently told Kevin Iole that he prefers Rakhmonov right now because of his impressive undefeated record. “After beating him, there’s no excuse,” Muhammad said, referring to his legitimacy as a great champion.
He feels that if he beats Usman, it might not hold the same weight since Usman is on a three-fight losing streak and looking past his prime.
At 37, Usman is only slightly older than Belal, but with a bunch of fresh contenders like Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry in the 170-pound division, the Palestinian-American wants some fresh blood.
