Belal Muhammad thinks people calling Kamaru Usman the best welterweight of all time are getting ahead of themselves.
Ex-champion Georges St-Pierre is owner of the most title defenses in UFC welterweight history and is widely considered the greatest 170-pounder, but with current champ Usman’s recent dominance, the likes of UFC president Dana White have given him that label.
But Muhammad (21-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) thinks Usman still has a lot of work to do and left MMA Junkie Radio perplexed when he included St-Pierre, Tyron Woodley, Matt Hughes and B.J. Penn in his welterweight Mt. Rushmore, but not Usman.
“No, he ain’t getting that respect until he beats me,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie Radio. “And if you’re looking at it, people keep saying is he one of the best welterweights ever of all time, and I’m like – he’s beaten Colby (Covington) twice, he’s beaten (Jorge) Masvidal twice and he’s beaten Gilbert (Burns). Those are just three guys. It’s not like he’s gotten through seven or eight different opponents. Respect – he’s the champion. He’s staying busy. But you’re fighting rematches before you’re giving other guys a chance to match up against you.”
Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC) has notched five title defenses since he dethroned Tyron Woodley in 2019. He has two wins each over Covington and Masvidal, plus Sanford MMA teammate Gilbert Burns. He has stoppage wins over all three opponents.
Muhammad is starting to make his own case for a title shot after going unbeaten in his past eight fights. Most recently, he avenged his loss to Vicente Luque at UFC on ESPN 34. Muhammad thinks his next fight should be a No. 1 contender, but with Usman currently recovering from hand surgery, he thinks his title hopes could be delayed.
“After my next fight, for sure it’s going to be fighting for the title no matter what,” Muhammad said. “For me, I’m trying to think of when Usman is actually going to fight. If you’re looking at it, they haven’t booked that (Usman vs. Leon Edwards) fight.
“They said it, they brought it up, but it’s been months. I think that his hand is more injured than he’s letting on, and I think people keep re-injuring their hand with that type of injury. So I really think he’s not (Usman vs. Leon Edwards) be fighting until later on in the year, and if that’s the case, a fight with me and Leon does really make a lot of sense.”
Belal Muhammad: Kamaru Usman not the welterweight GOAT, defended his title against ‘just three guys’
