Belal Muhammad thinks Islam Makhachev is looking for an easy out.<\/p>\n
Last month, Islam Makhachev became the eleventh 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.<\/p>\n
But instead, Makhachev has made it known that if he got to choose, he\u2019d give former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman that first title shot, and Belal Muhammad thinks he knows why.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Muhammad said on his YouTube channel<\/a>. \u201cBeating a guy like Sean Brady, being undefeated, finishing Sean Brady, I mean, what else more do you have to do?<\/p>\n \u201cBut we see the seeds planted. We see Islam planting the seeds of \u2018Usman should be the next guy.\u2019 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\u2019s fought one time in three years, and he\u2019s 1-3.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n But Muhammad doesn\u2019t just take umbrage with the positioning of Usman from a meritocratic standpoint; he also has some personal history with \u201cThe Nigerian Nightmare,\u201d dating back to an altercation that happened when Muhammad went on Usman\u2019s podcast. Since then, Muhammad has been interested in settling their business in the cage, while Usman hasn\u2019t given it much play.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m still ahead of you, even though I lost my last two fights,\u201d Muhammad said. \u201cI\u2019m still 2-2. So, you could talk, you can say whatever you want. You turned down a fight. You didn\u2019t want to fight, and I don\u2019t think it should earn you a title fight when you\u2019re saying no to fights. But that\u2019s my thing. You can call me a hater, but I\u2019m just looking at the division from a different lens; what I think and who I think has earned it.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s hoping to turn things around in 2026, and if Usman doesn\u2019t get the title shot, \u201cRemember the Name\u201d wants the two former champions to settle their issues the old-fashioned way.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll see what happens next with him, too,\u201d Muhammad said. \u201cWho will get it? If it is Morales, I do think me and Usman makes the most sense. I\u2019ve been wanting that fight, asking for the fight. We\u2019ll see if we get the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n Haters. \u2018What are the people going to say now?\u2019<\/a>: Anderson Silva reacts to Jake Paul facing Anthony Joshua.<\/p>\n Messy. Ilia Topuria claims he\u2019s being extorted<\/a> with \u2018false allegations of domestic abuse.\u2019<\/p>\n Poatan. Alex Pereira casts doubt on returning<\/a> for UFC White House card.<\/p>\n Goals. Anthony Joshua on Jake Paul: \u2018I want to break him down spiritually and mentally.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Tragedy. MMA veteran Geronimo dos Santos dies after drowning in river<\/a>.<\/p>\n Anderson Silva interview.<\/p>\n Farewell to Good Guy\/Bad Guy.<\/p>\n Alexander Volkanovski has kangaroo burgers with Israel Adesanya.<\/p>\n Latest 1-minute scraps from Dan Hooker.<\/p>\n BC is leaving Morning Kombat.<\/p>\n SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE<\/p>\n Tyson Fury training with Nick Diaz. Sort of.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t really know what\u2019s happening here, but now you\u2019ve seen it, too.<\/p>\n Michael Chandler on parenting.<\/p>\n Paulo Costa living it up.<\/p>\n Jiri Prochazka as Saint Nicholas.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s just no reason to give Usman a title fight right now. I hope I\u2019m right and common sense wins out. (I\u2019m probably wrong, aren\u2019t I?)<\/p>\n If you find something you\u2019d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee<\/a> or @JedKMeshew<\/a> on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, and like us on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n