Kamaru Usman thinks he’s a better version of UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.
The pair continue to chirp at each other ever since Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) claimed the welterweight title from Leon Edwards with a dominant performance at UFC 304. Edwards was coming off back-to-back title wins over Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC).
“My man, you’re kind of a not-so-good version of myself,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo. “You’re kind of a not so – everything he does, I do better. He’s like, ‘Oh, I did what you couldn’t do, I beat Leon Edwards.’ I have a win over Leon Edwards.
“And in the second fight, I dominated Leon Edwards until lightning struck and he landed the kick. Becoming the new champion, that goes to your head. It’s like having your first beer. All of a sudden now you talking reckless to everybody.”
Muhammad told MMA Junkie that he’d be open to making his first title defense against Usman – even though the former champion is coming off three straight losses. He does however acknowledge that undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov is likely next.
Muhammad responded to Usman’s comments on his “Remember the Show” podcast.
“He’s one of the best welterweights to ever do it – I mean, he lost to Leon twice, and I just dominated Leon,” Muhammad said. “I did it better than him. He can say, ‘Oh, I had this win in 2015,’ but bro, that was 2015. Like, why are you sitting there grasping at straws to back then when nobody even knew who Leon was? Nobody knew who you were. This new version of Leon, that’s the version I beat. The one that beat you, that’s the one I just dominated.”
