Belal Muhammad has kept fans guessing about his first title defense ever since he captured the welterweight championship from Leon Edwards at UFC 304. He hasn't been shy about addressing callouts from potential challengers, particularly Kamaru Usman and Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Muhammad has made it clear that he aims to challenge unbeaten contender Rakhmonov for his maiden title defense. He claimed that he detects gaps in Rakhmonov's skillset and is confident that he can capitalize on those flaws when they eventually meet inside the octagon. 'Nomad' has rattled off eighteen straight victories in his professional career with as many finishes.
On the other hand, despite his verbal fencing with Usman, Muhammad respects 'The Nigerian Nightmare's past reign of dominance. However, he believes that Rakhmonov presents a formidable challenge that he's ready to confront.
Muhammad took to Instagram to fire fresh shots at Usman while discussing his upcoming title defense:
"A couple of public service announcements. The pound-for-pound podcast sucks. Like I said, I was on there, [Kamaru] Usman was terrible at talking, terrible at fighting. Got embarrassed a bit on both ends, speaking and fighting. Sorry [Henry] Cejudo, I do like you though. Shavkat, see you soon boy!”
Belal Muhammad dominated Leon Edwards at UFC 304 to lay hands on the welterweight throne via unanimous decision. Following the win, Muhammad claimed that he plans to make the welterweight division great again as an active champion.
In a recent interview with Michael Bisping on the Believe You Me podcast, Muhammad acknowledged that a fight against Kamaru Usman would solidify his legacy. He also suggested that Usman could offer a "tougher" challenge than the unbeaten contender Shavkat Rakhmonov:
“For me, I would think Usman’s a tougher fight. When I look at Shavkat [Rakhmonov], I see a lot of holes and I see many paths to victory. When I look at a fight and I take a fight, I come up with a strategy. I think of: Where’s this guy weak at? Let me take him there. Alright, well, you guys wanted to test it."
He added:
"That’s why I think for the UFC they don’t want to put him against an Usman for a No. 1 contender fight because Usman beats him, it’s like we just lost an undefeated guy, new blood, and we get Usman back in the mix again who was just the reigning champ for five years. I think they want new blood in general.”

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