Former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman returns to the octagon on June 14, headlining UFC on ESPN 69 in opposition to Joaquin Buckley.
“The Nigerian Nightmare” final fought in October 2023 in a brief discover combat in opposition to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294. After the day without work, Usman’s able to get again at it. Buckley’s subsequent until Usman runs into champion Belal Muhammad first.
“Belal’s a man that I by no means actually – He was all the time round and I by no means actually paid consideration to as a result of I used to be doing what I wanted to do to. I used to be all the time combating the subsequent man up, the subsequent man up. I did not actually take note of Belal,” Usman advised ESPN.
“Now that I am pressured to truly take a look at Belal, he isn’t unhealthy. He is simply good all over the place. That is been working. That is labored for him. He is not unhealthy. I am by no means in any approach discrediting that. I believe as soon as I used to be pressured to concentrate to him, I began to form of see the antics that goes on outdoors of the cage. And I used to be by no means that man. If I used to be champion and the subsequent man up began barking at me then, in fact, I’d reply. Alright. Then we would get in there and settle it.
“Belal simply appears to be a special kind of champion who’s keen to make memes, he is keen to get on Twitter, social media, as a result of he desires the eye,” Usman continued.
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Usman invited Muhammad to look on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast and Muhammad accepted the supply. The phase hasn’t been launched however the two reportedly got here to blows within the studio.
“He craves that focus. Even for those who’re a light-weight, even for those who’re a man that is a flyweight who’s not within the division, he is keen to have that back-and-forth with you,” Usman stated. “And for me, I simply discover it just a little bit distasteful, and I wasn’t part of it And as soon as he turned champion, he began to return at me with that vitality. I used to be like, ‘Oh, you have got an issue with me? Properly, in case you have an issue, I do not actually play the web sport. Let’s discuss it out.’ So we invited him on the podcast, and it went the way it went. That is all I may say. Finally, hopefully we’ll launch that podcast as a result of he was solely there for perhaps like 10 minutes. It wasn’t actually lengthy, after which it was over and he left.”
Muhammad left however that wasn’t the tip of their feud. When requested if safety must intervene if the 2 bumped into one another, Usman replied, “In all probability.”
