Belal Muhammad has zeroed in on who he wants for his first title defense.
Welterweight champion Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) has been trading barbs with former champion Kamaru Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC), but admits a fight against undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) does more for his career.
Usman has lost two straight title fights to Leon Edwards, followed by a majority decision to Khamzat Chimaev at middleweight. Although Usman is widely considered one of the greatest welterweights of all time, Muhammad sees Rakhmonov as a better option.
“For me now, I would rather it be Shavkat,” Muhammad told Kevin Iole. “I think he has more aura. He has the undefeated (part) about him. There’s no excuses after beating him. If I go out there and beat Usman, Usman’s on a three-fight losing streak. He’s old. He’s on his way out.
“I think he needs another win to get in the mix and show that he’s still hungry, to show that he still has tread on the tires. But I want Shavkat more. You look at the other guys, Ian (Machado Garry) isn’t even calling for it. (Jack Della Maddalena), I think he’s still hurt. I think it would be between Shavkat and Usman, and between those two, Shavkat makes more sense.”
Muhammad wants to build an undeniable legacy at welterweight, and is willing to knock off every rising contender to prove his worth.
“The goal was always gold. Now, it’s what’s the next thing you want to chase?” Muhammad said. “Now I want to be the GOAT of the welterweights. I want to chase (Georges St-Pierre). Now I want to chase that aura, being on that Mount Rushmore.
“When you think of the best welterweights, I want to be up there with those guys. To do that, I’m going to need some title defenses. To do that, I’m going to have to beat a lot of the younger guys that they’re saying are better than me.”
