Belal Muhammad
Kamaru Usman
Conversation History
“Who do i think deserves it [title shot]? Who do i think has earned it? I think Michael Morales for sure has earned it. But we see the seeds planted. We see Islam planting the seeds of Usman being the next guy. Obviously, they have the same manager... Do i think Usman is an easier matchup for him? Of course. The guy fought one time in three years, and he's 1—3. I'm still ahead of you [Usman]. Even though i lost my last two fights, i'm still 2—2.”
– commenting on the welterweight title picture, arguing that Michael Morales is the fighter who has earned the title shot over Kamaru Usman, whose recent record of 1—3 is being overlooked due to his shared management with Islam Makhachev, who Muhammad believes views Usman as an easier opponent.
“I don't think either guy this puts them up for a title shot. Not long ago, [Machado Garry] just lose to Shavkat Rakhmonov. That was not that long ago... If Belal is able to win that, so?.Now you want to challenge the man [Islam Makhachev] you didn't want to challenge you to fight for the title? Because you said that was my brother, I trained with him, I don't want him to challenge me for the title?... It's a tough one, but I might have to lean toward Garry. It's a tough one, even though Belal has the ability to completely win this fight, but I do lean toward Garry”
– via the Pound 4 Pound podcast, arguing that the winner of Muhammad vs. Garry shouldn't automatically get the next welterweight title shot
“Do you want to put this old f*rt with no knees in a title fight? You can't count on a guy like that who is just a coward”
– criticizing the idea of giving Kamaru Usman a title shot
“You know a lot about getting your head kicked in”
– Belal's reply to Usman's dork comment via X
“I just think he's a dork. And you know what you do with a dork is you ignore them, because... I'm looking at the title. I've been where he hasn't been. Yes, of course, he's been a champion, but you know what happened when it was time for you to defend. And so I have nothing to gain from fighting Belal Muhammad... I want to get the title, and I want to continue on my track of defending... If I have the title and he's the next guy, I would luckily kick his head in.”
– Kamaru reacted to Belal's callout during the UFC 321 Q&A.
“As a man, for somebody to slap you and you to say no,... and for you to not post it or talk about it, it just shows what type of person you are. He’s a coward”
– via No Scripts podcast
“Kamaru Usman's injured. He's not fighting. He's staying on the sidelines. He's 1—3 in his last four fights, and he's trying to talk big game... That was the fight that made the most sense. We had a podcast where I slapped him. And, you’d want to get your get back. But the fact that he didn't, he knows that the slap hurt him, and he knows that it’s just a bad matchup for him”
– via No Scripts podcast