Belal Muhammad continues to actively seek a fight against fellow fighter Kamaru Usman.
While a potential clash between these two prominent welterweight contenders makes sense from a competitive standpoint, their existing personal history significantly fuels Muhammad`s push for this particular matchup.
Their history includes a notable incident from the past year when Muhammad appeared as a guest on Usman and Henry Cejudo`s “Pound-4-Pound” podcast. The interaction reportedly grew so intense, allegedly involving physical contact (though specific details remain unclear), that the planned episode was never released. Muhammad offered his perspective on why the recording never saw the light of day.
“I was on his podcast, made him cry,” Muhammad claimed, speaking to Home of Fight. “Then threw some blows, then all of a 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 elaborated further on the claim regarding Usman`s emotional state during the encounter.
“Usman cried. Tears coming out his eyes,” Muhammad asserted. He speculated about the reason for the episode`s non-release: “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 offered his thoughts on Usman`s potential difficulty processing the interaction.
“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,” Muhammad stated.
Despite Muhammad`s strong desire for the fight, the bout might not happen soon. Following his recent victory over Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta, Usman appeared uninterested in facing Muhammad, indicating his focus is solely on securing a welterweight title shot next. However, Muhammad believes Usman should perhaps wait for a title opportunity.
Muhammad argued for the logic of their potential matchup within the division.
“When you think of that division, the biggest names, we’re both two of the biggest names in the division, especially right now,” Muhammad explained. “It makes complete sense with the back and forth, the history, their hidden podcast. All that stuff.”
Should the fight ultimately take place, Muhammad expressed absolute confidence in the outcome.
“He would get dominated,” Muhammad asserted, detailing his analysis. “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.”
