Newly crowned UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad sees the merits of facing both Kamaru Usman and Shavkat Rakhmonov for his first title defense.
Muhammad finds himself on the throne after making the most of his first shot at glory on mixed martial arts' biggest stage late last month. "Remember the Name" crossed the pond to challenge Leon Edwards at the UFC 304 pay-per-view event in Manchester, England.
Amid a hostile reception, Muhammad delivered on his promise to emphatically unseat "Rocky" in the main event, utilizing his grappling and ever-improving striking to control large parts of the five-round contest en route to a comfortable decision win.
As is always the case following a title win, talk has quickly turned to the welterweight division's next championship matchup and who could be the first to test Muhammad's reign.
The champ has a 'bring one, bring them all' mindset...
During a recent interview for ESPN MMA while in Abu Dhabi for Saturday's UFC Fight Night, Muhammad reflected on his championship triumph in Manchester and looked ahead to what could be next for him inside the Octagon.
"Remember the Name" acknowledged the benefits that would come with fighting one of the division's all-time greats in Usman for his first defense, but he also reiterated his desire to take Rakhmonov's 0.
Anyone of them, right? Usman, obviously I think for legacy," Muhammad said. "He's one of the biggest names in the division, he's under GSP, and I think he's still got tread in the tyres, even though he lost the close fight to Leon and then the really close fight to Khamzat.
I think name value, he has the bigger name. But also, I want to fight the boogeyman," Muhammad continued. "The boogeyman that everybody says can beat anybody, is gonna walk through anybody. ... I knew after beating Leon, they would say, 'Well, Shavkat will walk through him! He can't do that to Shavkat!' I'm just gonna keep doing it. ... Dana White, you just got to give me the time and date and I'm ready to go.
Both "The Nigerian Nightmare" and "Nomad" have been staking their claims for the first shot at Muhammad, with the former most recently having a somewhat heated back and forth with the champ on social media.
While Usman hasn't competed at welterweight since falling short against Edwards in their trilogy fight last year, the most recent victory in Rakhmonov's undefeated run in the weight class came over Stephen Thompson last December.
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