Belal Muhammad calls for Usman as first title defence
Belal Muhammad has a theory who he feels deserves the first crack at his 170-pound title.
Muhammad, who outpointed mature champion Leon Edwards several weeks ago in Manchester to tell the UFC’s welterweight crown, had been widely expected to face the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov is his next time out in a 170-pound fold which has several young contenders mountain climbing towards the summit of the rankings ladder.
Nonetheless Muhammad has but every other contender in thoughts: the mature champion Kamaru Usman.
“In actual fact, I would instruct Kamaru horny because he’s fought the absolute most sensible degree for thus long,” the champ suggested Submission Radio when requested about who he sees himself combating next, as eminent by MMA Junkie.
“And stylistically he has one of essentially the most straightforward IQs in the sport. So I assemble, for me, combating somebody with finish to an IQ of myself would be a more difficult strive towards.”
Usman, who’s in total idea to be 1 of essentially the most attention-grabbing welterweights in blended martial arts historical past, is on the 2d on a 3-strive towards skid after first shedding his world title to Leon Edwards in August 2022 sooner than shedding once again to the identical opponent of their rematch several months later.
He became closing October defeated by Khamzat Chimaev by majority resolution in a finish affair in a strive towards which he took on rapid be taught about.
And no topic facing the first three-strive towards shedding skid of his career, Muhammad says Usman would possibly be the hardest test for him of your whole on hand contenders.
“He aloof has tread on his tires,” Muhammad stated of Usman. “Of us will sit down there and instruct, love, you stated, other folks ought to relish forgot, true? And it’s, other folks are like a flash to neglect about you, nonetheless he fought that strive towards with Khamzat on eight days’ be taught about, and it became a sport of inches in that strive towards, true?
“If it became two more rounds in there, I would’ve been very alive to to survey how it would relish went. That became a man that no-one idea would possibly presumably touch him. He became immortal, and Kamaru made him discover mortal on eight days’ be taught about in Abu Dhabi. So, that’s why I assemble he would be one of many hardest fights in the division.”
