Belal Muhammad, the recently crowned UFC welterweight champion, prefers to fight the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov over former champion Kamaru Usman for his next title defense, as he believes a victory over Rakhmonov would be more significant.
Belal Muhammad is still waiting for the UFC to tell him who he fights next. If he had his choice today, it would be Shavkat Rakhmonov.
The recently crowned welterweight champion expects to have his first title defense officially announced soon. The two most-discussed options are the undefeated Rakhmonov and former champion Kamaru Usman.
Rakhmonov has been on a tear, winning his first six UFC fights. He continues his run of 18 finishes in 18 professional fights.
Usman remains in the discussion due to his previous success. He’s defended the welterweight title five times and had a competitive performance in a losing effort to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294.
Muhammad told Kevin Iole he’s leaning towards Rakhmonov at the moment. “For me now, I’d rather have it be Shavkat,” Muhammad said. “He has more aura, he has the undefeatedness to him.”
“There’s no excuse after beating him,” Muhammad continued. “I go out there and beat Usman, Usman’s on a three-fight losing streak, he’s old, he’s on his way out.”
“I think Usman needs another win to get into the mix,” Muhammad added. “To show that he’s still hungry, to show that he still has tread on the tires.”
“But I think it will be Shavkat,” Muhammad concluded. “When you look at all the other guys, Ian’s not really going to call for it, JDM, I think he’s still hurt.”
“So I think it would be between Shavkat and Usman,” Muhammad stated. “Between those two, I think Shavkat makes more sense.”
At 37, Usman is actually only 14 months older than Muhammad. However, a lengthy run at the top followed by three straight losses has raised questions about his contender status.
The UFC’s 170-pound division currently has a healthy crop of potential title challengers. This includes Rakhmonov, Jack Della Maddalena, and Ian Machado Garry.
Usman’s hopes of regaining the title are further hurt by past interactions with Muhammad. “It’s hilarious,” Muhammad said.
“Especially with Usman,” Muhammad continued. “Usman was a guy that didn’t mention my name, wouldn’t say my name.”
“He was calling out everybody else when he was champion,” Muhammad noted. “I had the longest streak at the time and he just kept acting like I didn’t exist.”
“Now, it’s ‘Who’s this guy think he is?’” Muhammad remarked. “I even went on his podcast and broke him down verbally, mentally, spiritually.”
“I could see it in his face that he did not like not being the guy on top,” Muhammad observed. “He didn’t like not being the champion.”
“Even little parts on his podcast where I was like, ‘Yeah, it feels good to be on top,’” Muhammad recalled. “‘Everybody’s looking upward at me.’”
“He was like, ‘I ain’t looking upward at you,’” Muhammad recounted. “I’m like, ‘The rankings tell me that you are looking upward at me.’”
“These guys still have it in their head,” Muhammad mused. “They still can’t believe it.”
“But it just feels good because I’ve been saying this from the beginning,” Muhammad asserted. “That I belong in the talks with some of these top guys.”
“I belong at the top with these guys,” Muhammad insisted. “And people kept ignoring me, they kept telling me I wasn’t going to do it.”
“The oddsmakers never gave me a chance,” Muhammad pointed out. “So for me to go out there and beat all these guys that they said I couldn’t beat.”
“To dominate these guys that they said I couldn’t dominate,” Muhammad emphasized. “Now it feels good because now you have to listen to me when I say something.”
Muhammad claimed the welterweight title with a one-sided win over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 this past July. Excluding a no-contest in their first fight due to an accidental eye poke, Muhammad has won 10 straight fights and 14 of his past 15.
As impressive as that streak is, “Remember the Name” knows he needs more title fight wins to be remembered among the best welterweights ever.
“For myself now, the goal was always the gold,” Muhammad said. “I always put gold as the goal.”
“Now, for myself, it’s like, what’s the next thing you want to chase?” Muhammad pondered. “What’s the next thing?”
“Now it’s GOAT,” Muhammad declared. “Now I want to be the GOAT of the welterweights.”
“I want to chase the ‘GSPs,’” Muhammad admitted. “I want to chase that aura, being on that Mount Rushmore.”
“When you think of the welterweights,” Muhammad envisioned. “The best welterweights, I want to be up there with those guys.”
“To do that,” Muhammad realized. “I’m going to need some title defenses.”
“To do that,” he reiterated. “I’m going to need to beat a lot of these younger guys that they’re saying are better than me.”
“That they’re saying are going to beat me,” Muhammad reflected. “Regardless.”
“And just keep proving people wrong,” Muhammad concluded with a grin.