Tag: belal muhammad

Jon Anik Defends UFC Champion Against Ducking Allegations

There has been a lot of talk of late regarding who will be Belal Muhammad’s first title challenger, after winning the welterweight belt at UFC 304. The undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov is quite clearly the most deserving contender but there has been some debate over whether former champion Kamaru Usman should also be in the discussion. […]

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There has been a lot of talk of late regarding who will be Belal Muhammad’s first title challenger, after winning the welterweight belt at UFC 304.

The undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov is quite clearly the most deserving contender but there has been some debate over whether former champion Kamaru Usman should also be in the discussion.

Rakhmonov recently said in an interview that he had already been offered the title shot for UFC 307, which takes place in Salt Lake City on October 5.

He claims that Muhammad turned the fight down because he couldn’t make that turnaround, which isn’t surprising considering he fought five rounds at the end of July.

A long-time supporter of the champion has come to his defense after some fans tried to accuse Muhammad of dodging what many believe will be a big challenge for him.

Jon Anik Says That Belal Muhammad Isn’t Ducking Shavkat Rakhmonov, Explains Motivation Behind Potential Usman Fight

In a series of posts on X, UFC commentator Jon Anik gave his thoughts on the current layout of the welterweight division.

Anik stressed that Muhammad shouldn’t be criticized for talking about what would be a big fight against Usman and that he certainly isn’t trying to avoid Rakhmonov at the same time.

“1) For his legacy, not at all surprising Belal Muhammad would want the chance to defend his title against one of the all-time welterweight greats in Kamaru Usman but the notion he is somehow trying to sidestep Shavkat Rakhmonov is straight fake news.”

Anik then went on to explain how everyone, including the UFC, knows that Rakhmonov is the next rightful contender, stating that Muhammad’s willingness to fight the unbeaten contender isn’t a barrier in the way of making that fight happen.

“2) Shavkat Rakhmonov is 18-0 w/ 18 finishes. 6-0 in the UFC. Whether he has the No. 3 or No. 1 ranking matters not. Most of us see him as the largely unquestioned, rightful, next title challenger. And I think the UFC concurs! But the champion ain’t the f*cking problem. Trust.”

Read also: Demetrious Johnson Gives Stamp Of Approval To UFC Champion

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‘I’m Team Belal Muhammad’ – Gilbert Burns Extends Support For UFC Welterweight Champ Against Shavkat Rakhmonov

For the first time in his pro MMA career, Gilbert Burns has two consecutive losses on his record. He lost a decision to Belal Muhammad after getting injured early in the fight, followed by a late TKO loss to Jack Della Maddalena. Despite the losses, fans aren’t overlooking Burns as he takes on Sean Brady […]

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For the first time in his pro MMA career, Gilbert Burns has two consecutive losses on his record. He lost a decision to Belal Muhammad after getting injured early in the fight, followed by a late TKO loss to Jack Della Maddalena.

Despite the losses, fans aren’t overlooking Burns as he takes on Sean Brady this weekend. Brady’s last loss came against Muhammad as well, but he bounced back by submitting Kelvin Gastelum in December 2023.

Burns is hopeful about beginning another title run at welterweight by beating Brady, and he wants Muhammad to be the champion until he reaches the belt again…

Gilbert Burns Praises Belal Muhammad’s Approach As Champion While Hoping To Get His Rematch

Burns talked about his ambition to get another chance at becoming the UFC welterweight kingpin in an interview with MMA Junkie recently. He naturally needs to get past Brady first and hopes that Muhammad beats Shavkat Rakhmonov to remain champion.

“Durinho” not only wants to get his rematch but also likes how Muhammad has carried himself since becoming champ. For instance, “Remember the Name” aims to move up a weight class only after fighting all top contenders at welterweight.

Burns acknowledged that he’s trained with Rakhmonov quite a few times when they share camps. However, he’ll still be backing Muhammad to win as it’s the most ideal scenario for his rematch.

“I want Belal to stay champion when I fight for the title, you know, that’s my goal and then get the rematch for the title. That would be great so I’m team Belal Muhammad, you know, I want this guy to keep winning and then whenever I’m there, that’s the guy that I’m facing.”

The former title challenger also talked about how things have changed in the UFC welterweight division after Kamaru Usman’s dominant reign ended. He praised Muhammad for wanting to fight Rakhmonov over Usman as the former kingpin has now lost three UFC fights in a row.

“I like that Belal is being a good champion, you know, he said he wants to fight, face the number one contender guys, before thinking on moving up or moving, you know, fighting another champion. I like that, that’s my, that was my go-to you know. Go over there, beat the number one fighters, keep beating these guys and especially he, you know, he need to make that fan base, you know. He needs to make the fans excited. He’s doing a great job right now the way he talks and I think he’s gonna be a great champion.

Because he’s been saying the right things and wants to give his division’s contenders opportunities, Burns totally supports Muhammad to remain the champ for at least a year or two. Unsurprisingly, he would want to fight Muhammad again at his best and grab a UFC belt for the first time in his career.

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UFC Champion Feels Kamaru Usman’s Legacy Doesn’t Compare With Israel Adesanya Or Alexander Volkanovski

Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has been trading some comments with the title’s former holder, Kamaru Usman. Despite being without a win since his second victory over Colby Covington, “The Nigerian Nightmare” is still very much in the title mix at 170-pounds. He may have lost back-to-back fights against Leon Edwards and came up short when […]

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Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has been trading some comments with the title’s former holder, Kamaru Usman.

Despite being without a win since his second victory over Colby Covington, “The Nigerian Nightmare” is still very much in the title mix at 170-pounds.

He may have lost back-to-back fights against Leon Edwards and came up short when attempting to beat Khamzat Chimaev up a weight class on late notice, but his prior winning streak in the division speaks for itself.

Muhammad, however, doesn’t have the same kind of respect for the run that Usman went on, mostly because of his conduct when he was the champion.

Belal Muhammad Says Kamaru Usman Picked Opponents During His Welterweight Title Reign

Muhammad always felt that during his own welterweight winning streak, he was being overlooked by the guys at the top who didn’t want to fight him.

He had this issue with Edwards before they met in a rematch at UFC 304 and he has the same problem with Usman.

In an interview with Submission Radio, he spoke about why he doesn’t believe that the former champion deserves another shot at the title without returning to the win column first.

The current titleholder, who appears to be facing Shavkat Rakhmonov next, says that Usman chose to ignore him and other viable contenders like Vicente Luque in order to take bigger money fights against the likes of Jorge Masvidal.

Comparing Usman to other long-reigning champions of this era in Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski, Muhammad believes that he isn’t in the same conversation because he picked opponents instead of fighting the next best guy at all times.

“If you wanted to cement yourself as the best welterweight, you do what Adesanya did or Volkanovski, who’s the next best guy. Who’s the guy that’s right there and he didn’t do that. So for him to say like now he’s calling my name, like oh now you noticed me because I have the target on my back but before you act like you didn’t know who I was. I’ve been chasing you, I’ve been here, I’ve been talking.”

Read also: ‘Mates With Jorge Masvidal’ – MMA Analyst Explains Why Rumored Dustin Poirier vs. Colby Covington Fight Makes Perfect Sense

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Belal Muhammad Chooses Shavkat Rakhmonov Over Kamaru Usman For Title Defense: ‘Looks Exactly Like The Leon Fight…’

There has been a lot of conversation over the past week about whether there will be a surprise next contender for the welterweight title. Shavkat Rakhmonov is the clear top pick to challenge Belal Muhammad next and according to him, he was already offered the fight but it didn’t come together. Some have debated whether […]

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There has been a lot of conversation over the past week about whether there will be a surprise next contender for the welterweight title.

Shavkat Rakhmonov is the clear top pick to challenge Belal Muhammad next and according to him, he was already offered the fight but it didn’t come together.

Some have debated whether Kamaru Usman’s pedigree in the sport and strong relationship with the UFC could be enough for him to get the next shot despite the fact he is winless in his last three Octagon appearances.

The champion himself gave his thoughts on this where he clarified why in his opinion, Rakhmonov is next in line.

Belal Muhammad Says Kamaru Usman Misses Out Because Of Taking UFC 294 Opportunity

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Muhammad gave his thoughts on who he believes he will be fighting next.

Along with one option being more credible because of their current form, the champion also believes that fans would look to detract from his achievements if he were to defeat Usman, which means he finds himself more motivated to go the opposite way.

“Remember The Name” went with the consensus opinion that Rakhmonov deserves the opportunity but rather than totally disregarding Usman, he explained why in his opinion, “The Nigerian Nightmare” isn’t the front-runner at this time.

“I think it would just be, for me, if Usman didn’t lose to Khamzat and take that fight, but people forget it was a short notice fight, that would be the fight because he only lost to Leon. But, now he lost three in a row, I think he would need another win. So for me now, it’s all right, Shavkat is the boogeyman that they all think is unbeatable and now I’m getting freaking a thousand comments on my Instagram page anytime I post anything, from the ‘Shavkatians’, so yeah I think for me, it would be another one of those tests to prove people wrong, to shut them up right.

“My last five or six fights, everybody thought I was gonna get killed, they thought I was gonna lose so he’s another guy that I go out there and I smash him, what’s your excuse gonna be? If I go out there and I beat Usman, it’s like, ‘Well he’s on a three-fight losing streak, he’s done, he has no knees, you just beat a bum.’ But if I go out there and I beat Shavkat, they’re gonna be like what? Nothing. He was undefeated, he has all finishes so now that’s the guy that I’m putting my sights on.”

Muhammad also broke down how he sees the fight against Rakhmonov playing out when they do eventually meet inside the Octagon.

He said that this fight will look similar to his title-winning display at UFC 304 and referenced his win over Sean Brady to explain why he believes he will be the one to hand the unbeaten contender his first loss.

“Honestly I think it looks exactly like the Leon fight. I think I dominate him everywhere. For me, I have a different style every single fight.

“Shavkat looks like he’s not uncomfortable now because he’s undefeated but these undefeated guys, like I dealt with with Sean Brady, I know how to make them uncomfortable and once I make them uncomfortable, I know how to break them.”

Read also: Belal Muhammad Claims Kamaru Usman Is A Harder Fight Than Shavkat Rakhmonov: ‘One Of The Best IQs In The Game’

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Belal Muhammad Claims Kamaru Usman Is A Harder Fight Than Shavkat Rakhmonov: ‘One Of The Best IQs In The Game’

Belal Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards via unanimous decision at UFC 304 to win the UFC welterweight championship. Many expected Edwards to defend the title comfortably, but Muhammad out-struck the champ and secured over 12 minutes of control time with nine takedowns. There’s no shortage of contenders for the new champion at welterweight. While Gilbert Burns, […]

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Belal Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards via unanimous decision at UFC 304 to win the UFC welterweight championship. Many expected Edwards to defend the title comfortably, but Muhammad out-struck the champ and secured over 12 minutes of control time with nine takedowns.

There’s no shortage of contenders for the new champion at welterweight. While Gilbert Burns, Ian Garry, and Jack Della Maddalena are potentially one good win away from a title shot, Shavkat Rakhmonov is seen as the clear contender since his submission of Stephen Thompson.

Rakhmonov, with his 100% finish rate, is one of the most intimidating prospects in the UFC, but Muhammad thinks that Kamaru Usman will be a tougher fight for him…

Belal Muhammad Calls Kamaru Usman The Toughest Fight In UFC Welterweight Division Over Shavkat Rakhmonov, Jack Della Maddalena, And Others

Muhammad recently discussed his first title defense on the Submission Radio YouTube channel. Despite constantly trolling Usman since winning the title, he admitted that Rakhmonov deserves a title shot most. The former UFC welterweight kingpin, in his opinion, needs to get back into the win column after losing three fights in a row.

Muhammad doesn’t underestimate Usman as an opponent, though. He acknowledges that the “Nigerian Nightmare” has a ton of experience fighting top-level competition and is one of the smartest fighters inside the Octagon.

Here’s how the champ responded when asked about the tougher opponent between Rakhmonov and Usman:

“Honestly, I would say Kamaru. Just because he’s fought the highest level for so long. And, stylistically, he has one of the best IQs in the game. So, I think, for me, fighting somebody with the close to an IQ of myself would be a harder fight.”

“Remember the Name” also looked back at Usman’s short-notice bout against Khamzat Chimaev. Like many, he was impressed by the former UFC welterweight kingpin’s performance against “Borz” and believes the fight could’ve gone the other way if there were two more rounds.

Like Usman, Muhammad claimed that MMA fans usually forget how good fighters are as soon as they lose a fight.

“He still has tread on his tires. People will sit there and say, like, you said, people must have forgot, right? And its, people are quick to forget about you but he fought that fight with Khamzat on eight days’ notice and it was a game of inches in that fight, right? It could, if it was two more rounds in there, I would’ve been very interested to see how it would have went.”

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Shavkat Rakhmonov Trusts UFC’s Meritocracy To Prevent Conor McGregor Title Shot Hijack, Reveals Belal Muhammad Turned Down UFC 307 Date

Shavkat Rakhmonov hasn’t put a foot wrong during his ascent up the welterweight ladder towards a title shot. With a undefeated record and all of his wins coming via finish, the 170-pound contender appears to be set up to challenge Belal Muhammad for the belt next time out. unless something unexpected occurs. The UFC has […]

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Shavkat Rakhmonov hasn’t put a foot wrong during his ascent up the welterweight ladder towards a title shot.

With a undefeated record and all of his wins coming via finish, the 170-pound contender appears to be set up to challenge Belal Muhammad for the belt next time out. unless something unexpected occurs.

The UFC has been known to temporarily swerve the rankings if it means putting something big together and when you’re talking big in MMA, there’s no one larger than Conor McGregor.

Despite there being no rescheduled date for his welterweight return against Michael Chandler, “The Notorious” returning with a win could completely change the top of the weight class.

Rakhmonov spoke in a recent interview with MMA Fighting about how he believes the promotion will do right by him even in the instance that “The Mac” is back in the mix.

“He’s been getting ready to fight a long time but wasn’t able to do that yet so in my head, I don’t even think about him winning this one fight in three years is going to do something. I understand he’s a big star but in my head, I don’t see it being possible. I believe UFC is the best and the most fair organization so I believe they’re gonna do everything right.”

Shavkat Rakhmonov Reveals That Belal Muhammad Turned Down UFC 307 Title Fight

Though there has been some debate over whether Rakhmonov will definitely be the next title challenger for Muhammad, the contender answered this question all by himself.

He revealed during the same interview that he has already been offered the title shot but it didn’t come to fruition due to the champion not being able to make a 70-day turnaround to fight at elevation in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Alex Pereira will be headlining UFC 307 instead, which always seemed to be an optimistic target for Muhammad after he won the belt at the end of July.

“Yeah, actually I had already been offered to fight Belal and I accepted the fight against Belal but unfortunately, he declined to fight me due to the timing issues, he wasn’t ready to defend his belt on that time. So, we’ll see what’s gonna happen and when he’s gonna be ready so I will be able to fight him. Before he became a champion and after he won the belt, he said he’s gonna be an active champion and he will defend his belt more often but at the moment, he isn’t backing up what he said so let’s see what’s going to happen, when he’s going to be ready to fight me.”

Read also: Khalil Rountree Says He Would Fire His Coaches If They Insisted He Grapple Alex Pereira

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