Newly minted welterweight world champion Belal Muhammad is flexing his meme game.
In July, Muhammad claimed the 170-pound title with a lights-out performance against Leon Edwards in Manchester. Shortly after, ‘Remember The Name’ has declared that he plans to be a fighting champion with hopes of defending his title for the first time before 2024 comes to a close.
However, No. 3 ranked contender Shavkat Rakhmonov has called bullsh*t on Muhammad’s comment, claiming that the Chicago native has already declined a fight with him for later this year. That prompted Muhammad to snap back on social media, pointing out Rakhmonov’s own inactivity and suggesting that ‘Nomad’ should have to fight Kamaru Usman to determine his first title challenger.
“Inactive? Lol I’m still on trial and Shavkat hasn’t fought since 2023,” Muhammad wrote on X. “I think Shavkat and [Kamaru] Usman should fight to find the real number one contender.”
Muhammad’s post was also accompanied by a meme. One of the many he’s used to take digs at past and potential opponents in recent weeks.
Belal Muhammad content to let Rakhmonov and Usman fight it out for No. 1 contendership
Muhammad has since dropped a couple more memes to suggest that he won’t be fighting in 2024 and is aiming to force the UFC to book a No. 1 contenders fight.
In the eyes of many, Shavkat Rakhmonov is the most deserving of a title opportunity considering his 6-0 status inside the Octagon, including wins over Neil Magny, Geoff Neal, and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson in his last three outings. Not to mention a 100% finish rate.
Meanwhile, Kamaru Usman is sitting on a three-fight losing skid, including back-to-back losses against Leon Edwards and a majority decision defeat at the hands of Khamzat Chimaev nearly a year ago.
Despite his desire to be a fighting champion, it looks like Muhammad has no interest in competing before the end of the year. Instead, he’s content to sit on the sidelines and let Usman and Rakhmonov fight it out for the opportunity to face him sometime in 2025 despite there already being a more-than-deserving challenger.
