Belal Muhammad thinks Islam Makhachev is looking for an easy out.
Last month, Islam Makhachev became the 11th fighter ever to win titles in multiple UFC weight classes when he dominated Jack Della Maddelena for the welterweight belt at UFC 322. The victory solidified Makhachev as one of the best fighters of his generation and opened up several intriguing options for his first title defense at 170 pounds, including Shavkat Rakhmonov, Michael Morales, and Ian Machado Garry, among others.
But instead, Makhachev has made it known that if he got to choose, he’d give former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman that first title shot, and Belal Muhammad thinks he knows why.
“When I look at, especially the welterweight division, Islam being the champion, who do I think deserves it? Who do I think has earned it? I think Michael Morales, for sure, has earned it,” Muhammad said on his YouTube channel. “Beating a guy like Sean Brady, being undefeated, finishing Sean Brady, I mean, what else more do you have to do?
“But we see the seeds planted. We see Islam planting the seeds of ‘Usman should be the next guy.’ Obviously, they have the same manager; obviously, the manager is planting seeds in his head of what he thinks should be. Do I think Usman is an easier matchup for him? Of course. The guy’s fought one time in three years, and he’s 1-3.”
Widely regarded as one of the greatest welterweights of all-time, Usman was riding a three-fight losing streak before picking up a unanimous decision win over Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta in June, his first win in over three years. Meanwhile, fighters like Rakhmonov and Morales are both undefeated, with long winning streaks inside the UFC.
But Muhammad doesn’t just take umbrage with the positioning of Usman from a meritocratic standpoint; he also has some personal history with “The Nigerian Nightmare,” dating back to an altercation that happened when Muhammad went on Usman’s podcast. Since then, Muhammad has been interested in settling their business in the cage, while Usman hasn’t given it much play.
“I’m still ahead of you, even though I lost my last two fights,” Muhammad said. “I’m still 2-2. So, you could talk, you can say whatever you want. You turned down a fight. You didn’t want to fight, and I don’t think it should earn you a title fight when you’re saying no to fights. But that’s my thing. You can call me a hater, but I’m just looking at the division from a different lens; what I think and who I think has earned it.”
Also a former welterweight champion, Muhammad had a disastrous 2025, losing the title to Della Maddalena in May before losing his return fight to Machado Garry in November. He’s hoping to turn things around in 2026, and if Usman doesn’t get the title shot, “Remember the Name” wants the two former champions to settle their issues the old-fashioned way.
“We’ll see what happens next with him, too,” Muhammad said. “Who will get it? If it is Morales, I do think me and Usman makes the most sense. I’ve been wanting that fight, asking for the fight. We’ll see if we get the fight.”
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I know this is naive, but I refuse to believe the UFC will book Islam vs. Usman. It would be so, so terrible. The belts needs to mean something, and if they continue to just book with no regard for even the most basic levels of merit, the whole thing falls apart. There’s just no reason to give Usman a title fight right now. I hope I’m right and common sense wins out. (I’m probably wrong, aren’t I?)
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