American Belal Muhammad will fight Nigeria’s Kamaru Usman only if he is ‘getting paid like a champion’

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North American Belal Muhammad said the only reason he would fight Nigerian UFC superstar Kamaru Usman was unless a huge pay agreement had been reached, and then he said why.

Belal Muhammad is a professional mixed martial arts artist who currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. According to official records, he was born on July 9, 1988, in Chicago, Illinois.

The fighter has been a professional competitor since 2012 and has also competed for Bellator and Titan FC. He holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Daniel Wanderly. Belal Muhammad’s nickname is ‘Remember the Name’, and his reach is 183 cm.

While revealing he would not fight Kamaru Usman, he said the fighter was different from some others he could fight with and that this necessitated a lot of pay.

‘We’re throwing stuff out at (the UFC),’ Muhammad disclosed. ‘I’m willing to fight Sean Strickland at 185. I’m willing to go up there, that’s a title fight. So, I have a guarantee for a title fight. Also, at 170, the only other person that doesn’t have a fight is (Kamaru) Usman, but when I’m looking at it, it doesn’t really make sense for me unless I’m getting paid like a champion, because Usman, I think, is a harder matchup than Colby or Leon, and I’m not going to get nothing for beating him.

Kamaru Usman of Nigeria

‘I’m not going to get a belt for beating him. Fighting Usman, I’m going to have a better resume than Usman – my resume is going to be tied with freaking GSP’s, and he’s considered the GOAT of the division. But, if I have Usman on my resume, Gilbert Burns, ‘Wonderboy,’ Luque, undefeated Sean Brady, which I think will pay dividends once Sean Brady comes back and fights, I’m going to be considered the GOAT of the welterweights without even fighting for the belt.’

Sean Strickland just beat former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in a stunning title upset that has both pundits, fans, and the UFC CEO, Dana White, divided over what could be the reason. This is because Israel Adesanya performed so below average in the fight that it seemed he was not himself.

Some high-profile figures have tried to explain what happened, saying that Strickland cut off Adesanya’s ability to use his trademark moves from the beginning by not giving him a chance to use his long-range attacks. This seems to be true.

Kamaru Usman thinks Adesanya should not get an immediate rematch with Sean Strickland, since that would be unwise. He is not against a bout between the two in the future, however.

Stating his view concerning being used as a backup in the welterweight division, Belal Muhammad said money would determine whether he accepted or not.

‘If they’re willing to pay me, for sure 100 percent,’ Muhammad said. ‘I’m going to be down there anyway, sitting front row, and I’ll have my WWE Money in the Bank briefcase, ready to hop over at any moment, step in there regardless if they want me to be the backup or not.

‘But they’ve had backups for every single title fight recently, and I don’t think I needed to be cemented as the backup to know I’m next in line because they already cemented me by saying, ‘You beat Gilbert Burns, you’re fighting for the belt next.’ So I don’t need to be the backup, but if they want me to, of course. I’m down if they’re paying.’

How much the UFC pays its superstars has been a big issue for some time. Francis Ngannou, a Cameroonian superstar, left the place because of the same problem, saying that the UFC does not pay their fighters enough.

Ngannou would face the world’s best boxer, Tyson Fury, on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in a professional boxing competition. Both might meet in the Octagon later for a rematch under the UFC’s rules.