Daniel Cormier thinks Belal Muhammad and Kamaru Usman’s trash talk could lead to them fighting.
Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) dethroned Leon Edwards to become welterweight champion at UFC 304 in July. He has since welcomed Shavkat Rakhmonov as a potential first title defense, and has traded barbs with former champion Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC).
However, considering that Usman has dropped three straight, a title shot is likely a tough sell. Not in Cormier’s mind though, as the former UFC dual-champion pointed to past examples where bad blood resulted in unwarranted title opportunities.
“This is one of those situations where Belal Muhammad is doing exactly what you’d expect from new champions, but you’ve got to be careful unless that’s exactly what you want,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Either he wants to fight Kamaru Usman, or he’s just chirping because by doing what he’s doing right now, he may have to fight Kamaru Usman, because when you bring a champion back into play, who at this point, isn’t really in contention because of the fights with Leon, and Khamzat (Chimaev). You bring him back into play, the powers that be start going, ‘Well, he did go up to 185 on 10 days’ notice to save a card and fought the guy that’s in a No. 1 contender match. Very close, and if it was a five-round fight, many people thought he was going to win. Maybe he does deserve a chance to fight this guy.’
“We have seen many fights and rivalries built on the fact that the guys don’t like each other. We have seen many fighters get title shots that many of you believe were undeserved, based on the fact that the champion, they did not like. We have seen people like Alex Pereira, who has gone onto become the man, get a title fight in two UFC fights because he had a history with Israel Adesanya. It’s not rocket science. When you bring a man’s name into play like that, especially a man that carries a lot of reputation, that has cache, a man that gets people to show up to the arena, you’ve got to be careful because if that’s not what you really want, you may end up getting that fight.”
Usman’s three losses came twice in title fights against Edwards, then a short-notice middleweight fight against Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2023.
