Off the back of his upset title victory over the course of last weekend at UFC 304, Belal Muhammad has already received a host of challenges to his newly-minted throne – most recently seeing a call out from former champion, Kamaru Usman land on his table.
Usman, a former undisputed welterweight champion and pound-for-pound number one ranked fighter under the banner of the promotion – most recently featured at UFC 294 back in October, losing a middleweight limit loss to Khamzat Chimaev in a close majority decision defeat.
As for Muhammad, the Illinois native headlined UFC 304 over the course of the weekend in enemy territory in Manchester, landing the undisputed welterweight championship in a stunning upset decision win over common-opponent, Leon Edwards.
Besting the Birmingham native throughout their five round headliner at the Co-op Live Arena, surging challenger, Muhammad managed to land the divisional crown in a huge upset win, and has welcomed the chance to take on the unbeaten finishing star, Shavkat Rakhmonov next.
Kamaru Usman calls for Belal Muhammad title fight
However, sharing his thoughts on Muhammad’s title coronation in the UK, Auchi native, Usman envisions a path back to his former championship – in the form of a charge against the wrestling talent.
“You want ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ Kamaru Usman?” Kamaru Usman asked on his podcast. “Give me ample time to get in there. At the end of the year, top of next year, I’ll go in there and I take my welterweight strap back, one hundred percent. But if you’re talking to the man that’s from the outside looking in to try to satisfy everybody when you look at the landscape of everything.”
“Yes it’s ‘Oh, he lost to Leon Edwards,’” Kamaru Usman explained. “But you know, people have amnesia every quickly. People forget that I was winning almost twenty four minutes of that fight until the lightning struck and Leon landed that kick. I think when you land something like that, it almost kind of spoiled Leon to where he forgot that hey I was being dominated this exact same way.”
Who wins in a potential title fight: Belal Muhammad or Kamaru Usman?