Kamaru Usman has revealed that a significant lack of cordiality exists between himself and the current UFC welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad.
Both fighters are scheduled for significant upcoming bouts. Muhammad is set to make his first title defense in the main event of UFC 315 this Saturday against Jack Della Maddalena. Meanwhile, Usman is making his return to competition after almost two years away, facing Joaquin Buckley in the headliner of UFC Atlanta.
According to Usman, the tension escalated after Muhammad secured the championship, with the new titleholder reportedly targeting Usman on social media. An attempt to clear the air on an unaired episode of Usman`s podcast with co-host Henry Cejudo reportedly became quite heated. The situation has reached a point where Usman suggests that security personnel might be required if he were to encounter Muhammad backstage at a UFC event.
“Probably,” Usman told ESPN MMA when asked about the need for security. “I say that because, obviously, I’m very level-headed — especially when I’m outside of the cage — but for the last almost two years, year and a half, I haven’t been in the thick of it. There’s a thing, there’s a transition. When you’re not in it, and people expect us to be these fighters and we’re always on go mode to where I’m outside of the cage, people are like, ‘Why are you so calm? You’re a scary fighter.’”
“But I’m not like that, and so when you’re in the thick of it, you’re on alert,” he continued. “Even me and Georges St-Pierre, we had this conversation where he expressed that to me. … But now that I’m back in the thick of it, yeah, you probably have to have security back there with us.”
Muhammad is currently on an impressive 11-fight unbeaten streak. This dominant run led him to his title opportunity at UFC 304 in July, where he defeated Leon Edwards to claim the welterweight championship.
While a long winning streak is notable, sustained success and multiple title defenses are key metrics for evaluating a champion`s place among the division`s historical elite. Usman was asked whether Muhammad possesses the capability to build a legacy comparable to past champions like Matt Hughes, Georges St-Pierre, and Usman himself, potentially dominating the 170-pound division for an extended period.
“I think so,” Usman replied. “I think so because in order to really have a stronghold on a divsion, you have to be good enough everywhere. In the divisions where you see [the title] change hands over and over, usually the champion is lacking some sort of skill. …”
“And now Belal is in a place where [like Hughes, St-Pierre, and myself], he can kind of do everything pretty good,” Usman observed. “We haven’t really seen his punching power, but now that he’s champion, give him time to potentially work on being confident in that aspect, we might be able to see it. So yeah, I think there’s potential, but that’s only defined if you are able to get through all these different kind of guys like myself, like a Buckley, like a [Michael Morales], like an Ian [Machado] Garry, and Shavkat Rakhmonov. If you are able to get through these different types of challenges, then you can say you’ve built a nice kind of legacy for yourself.”
