Belal Muhammad is actively pushing for a fight against Kamaru Usman. A matchup between two former welterweight title contenders like Muhammad and Usman makes sense on a basic level, but their shared personal history makes Muhammad particularly eager for the bout.
Last year, Muhammad was a guest on Usman’s Pound-4-Pound podcast, co-hosted by Henry Cejudo. The interaction reportedly became so intense that the episode was never released. While specifics are scarce, it`s alleged that the situation escalated physically. Muhammad claims he knows the reason why the podcast recording has not seen the light of day.
“I was on his podcast, made him cry,” Muhammad stated. “Then threw some blows, then all of the sudden, I don’t know, it got deleted from the cloud and it’s gone, it’s missing. Who knows? Maybe if we get this fight, they’ll use it for promotion, like the Khabib-Conor bus incident.”
Muhammad reiterated his claim about Usman`s emotional state during the podcast.
“Usman cried. Tears coming out his eyes,” Muhammad continued. “If you want to see it, maybe that’s why he’s trying to edit it out, find some AI to do something different with it.”
Muhammad also commented on what he perceives as Usman`s inability to face his current standing.
“The guy’s ego is so big, when you talk to the guy and tell him, and he realizes he’s not where he was or where he used to be or who he thinks he is, I don’t think he can deal with that, physically or mentally.”
Unfortunately for Muhammad, the desired fight might not materialize. Following his recent win over Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta, Usman dismissed the idea of fighting Muhammad, stating his focus is instead on securing a welterweight title opportunity. However, Muhammad believes Usman should wait.
“When you think of that division, the biggest names, we’re both two of the biggest names in the division, especially right now,” Muhammad said. “It makes complete sense with the back and forth, the history, their hidden podcast. All that stuff.”
Should the fight happen, Muhammad expressed absolute certainty about the outcome.
“He would get dominated,” Muhammad asserted. “There’s levels. I’ve been watching him for so long, wanting to fight him for so long, because I know I match up very well with him. He made it look easy against Buckley but you’re not going to take me down. You’re not going to out-strike me. You’re not going to out-cardio me. That’s why I see him trying to avoid the fight, looking for an easier matchup, calling 185 title fights, and random stuff like that. This guy’s delusional.”
