AI Bully Crooner Trashes Usman, Not Shavkat

Newly crowned Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad is building heat with one of his predecessors.

Since toppling Leon Edwards in Manchester at UFC 304, Muhammad has expressed his desire to be an active champion who takes on all comers. Subsequently, he has two real options regarding a likely December return to action: surging contender Shavkat Rakhmonov and former champion Kamaru Usman. Muhammad has said he’ll happily fight either man, but its Usman who has been trading barbs with “The Bully.”

The online warfare between Welterweight champions continues, and Muhammad is going high tech. Earlier this morning, Muhammad released a snippet of an artificial intelligence track generated to bash Usman, targeting his wonky knees and former greatness.

Give it a listen:

“Kamaru’s in the locker room, lacing up his worn-out gloves,” the generated country voice croons. “Thinking about that golden belt and all his dreams of love. He’s lost three fights in a row, his knees are giving in. Leon dropped him with a headshot, left him wondering when. Belal’s up there champin’ at the bit, ready for a fight, but Kamaru feels the aches and pains deep into the night. He’s got the heart of a lion, but his body’s just a shell. In the Octagon of memories, he’s caught in his own hell.”

It’s a silly bit of fight promotion, a good enough way to keep Muhammad’s name in the headlines without too much effort or ill will. Fans, however, are largely divided by the track. There are certainly some who think its funny, but there’s a wider question circling the fan base online: why is the track aimed at Usman rather than Shavkat? “The Nigerian Nightmare” has lost three fights in a row, whereas Rakhmonov is undefeated (18-0) with all his wins coming via stoppage.

Check out a mix of fan reactions below:

“Belal did you take any culinary lessons because boy you’re cooking him good.”

“The new Champ is gettin’ saucy”

“What a banger of a song”

“Y do u keep posting about usman when he’s 0-3 in his last 3 fights u scared of Shavkat?”

“Guess we know which fight Belal wants the most.”

“Disrespecting one of the goats is not likeable”

“Belal is the most cringe champion – even more than Ilia. He proves it every day with this garbage”

“No Shavkat huh?”

“Belal you should be focusing on shavkat you’ll get dropped even harder than headshot dead”

Again, Muhammad has said repeatedly that he’s willing to face Shavkat Rakhmonov if that’s the match up the UFC wants, but it’s easy to see why an Usman match up would be preferable for the new champion. Usman is older and has the bigger name, which would be a huge boost to Muhammad’s resume and legacy.

Alternatively, it could just be that it’s hard to talk trash to “The Nomad.” He shows up, impressively finishes his opponent, and then leaves the Octagon quietly. Enter the facts and I can only assume the AI generator would spit out songs praising Shavkat, which doesn’t serve Muhammad’s purposes.