Belal Muhammad is actively campaigning for a fight against Kamaru Usman. A matchup between these two prominent figures in the welterweight division is logical, particularly given their shared history and Muhammad`s strong desire for the confrontation.
Their feud apparently escalated during a 2023 appearance by Muhammad on Usman`s “Pound-4-Pound” podcast, co-hosted by Henry Cejudo. The session reportedly became so contentious, including alleged physical altercations (though details are sparse), that the episode remains unreleased. Muhammad offers his explanation for its suppression.
Speaking to Home of Fight, Muhammad recounted the podcast incident: “I was on his podcast, made him cry. Then threw some blows, then all of the sudden, I don’t know, it got deleted from the cloud and it’s gone, it’s missing. Who knows? Maybe if we get this fight, they’ll use it for promotion, like the Khabib-Conor bus incident.”
He elaborated, “Usman cried. Tears coming out his eyes. If you want to see it, maybe that’s why he’s trying to edit it out, find some AI to do something different with it.”
Muhammad speculated on Usman`s reaction: “The guy’s ego is so big, when you talk to the guy and tell him, and he realizes he’s not where he was or where he used to be or who he thinks he is, I don’t think he can deal with that, physically or mentally.”
Despite Muhammad`s push, the fight isn`t guaranteed. Following his recent win over Joaquin Buckley, Usman downplayed the possibility of facing Muhammad, expressing interest instead in a welterweight title challenge. Muhammad, however, believes Usman should face him first.
Muhammad argued for the bout`s significance: “When you think of that division, the biggest names, we’re both two of the biggest names in the division, especially right now. It makes complete sense with the back and forth, the history, their hidden podcast. All that stuff.”
If the fight happens, Muhammad is supremely confident. “He would get dominated,” Muhammad stated. “There’s levels. I’ve been watching him for so long, wanting to fight him for so long, because I know I match up very well with him. He made it look easy against Buckley but you’re not going to take me down. You’re not going to out-strike me. You’re not going to out-cardio me. That’s why I see him trying to avoid the fight, looking for an easier matchup, calling 185 title fights, and random stuff like that. This guy’s delusional.”
