- Belal Muhammad prefers Shavkat Rakhmonov over Kamaru Usman as his next challenger
- “Remember The Name” is wiling to face Sean Strickland at 185 even in a non-title fight
Belal Muhammad has a valid reason why he’d rather fight Shavkat Rakhmonov than Kamaru Usman and he also revealed what he plans to do against Sean Strickland.
Shavkat is a more rewarding opponent
Speaking to Submission Radio, “Remember The Name” was asked who he wants to take on as his next challenger. While “The Nigerian Nightmare” seems to be an interesting opponent, Muhammad said he would go for “Nomad” instead, because Rakhmonov is clearly the fighter to beat between the two.
Moreover, the reigning champ thinks people would just think he defeated a washed fighter if he picks and beat Usman.
“I think it would just be, for me, if Usman didn’t lose to Khamzat and take that fight, but people forget it was a short notice fight, that would be the fight because he only lost to Leon. But, now he lost three in a row, I think he would need another win. So for me now, it’s all right, Shavkat is the boogeyman that they all think is unbeatable and now I’m getting freaking a thousand comments on my Instagram page anytime I post anything, from the ‘Shavkatians’, so yeah, I think for me, it would be another one of those tests to prove people wrong, to shut them up right,” Muhammad said.
“My last five or six fights, everybody thought I was gonna get killed, they thought I was gonna lose so he’s another guy that I go out there and I smash him, what’s your excuse gonna be? If I go out there and I beat Usman, it’s like, ‘Well he’s on a three-fight losing streak, he’s done, he has no knees, you just beat a bum.’ But if I go out there and I beat Shavkat, they’re gonna be like what? Nothing. He was undefeated, he has all finishes so now that’s the guy that I’m putting my sights on,” he explained.
Belal thinks he could dominate Shavkat
When asked how he would fare against Rakhmonov, Muhammad was certain it would just play out the way his title fight with Edwards did at UFC 304.
“Honestly, I think it looks exactly like the Leon fight,” Muhammad assessed. “I think I dominate him everywhere. For me, I have a different style every single fight. Shavkat looks like he’s not uncomfortable now because he’s undefeated but these undefeated guys, like I dealt with with Sean Brady, I know how to make them uncomfortable and once I make them uncomfortable, I know how to break them.”
Belal wants to slap Sean around
Muhammad previously said that he would just defend his welterweight title twice and move up to middleweight to chase double-champ status. When asked about a potential showdown with former middleweight champion Strickland, “Remember The Name” said he’d be happy to “slap” and fight “Tarzan” even if it’s not for the title.
“I would love to fight Sean,” the champ said. “It doesn’t even have to be a belt on the line. I’d just fight him just to fight him at 185. That would be the fight I’d want at 185. I’d slap him around. I’d literally go in there and I’d slap him around. Sean, when I think of tough fights, Sean’s not one of them,” Muhammad continued. “I think it would be an easy fight for me. He beats a lot of guys with cardio. I have better cardio than him. He beats a lot of guys with jabs. I have better boxing than him.”
Muhammad’s journey to welterweight supremacy was not easy and he wants his next challenger to do the same. In all fairness to Rakhmonov, his resume presents a strong case for becoming the next title contender, having gone unbeaten in the UFC and his entire pro MMA career.
Watch Belal’s full interview below:
