Belal Muhammad appears unfazed by the attempts of two former champions to get his attention during UFC 315 fight week.
As he prepares for his title defense against Jack Della Maddalena on Saturday, Muhammad reacted to comments made by Kamaru Usman. Usman had suggested that security might be necessary to keep them apart if they happened to cross paths backstage at an event. The bad blood between the welterweights has been simmering for some time, and Usman claimed that now, with a fight scheduled for June, his animosity towards Muhammad would likely increase if they met.
However, Muhammad doesn`t seem particularly worried about a potential confrontation.
“Who? The former champion who`s lost three fights in a row?” Muhammad remarked about Usman during UFC 315 media day. “Why would I need to be afraid of that guy with bad knees, no cartilage, and a big head? No, I think I`ll be just fine.”
Muhammad also addressed a widely discussed podcast episode he recorded with Usman and former UFC two-division champion Henry Cejudo that was never released. The podcast reportedly became quite heated, with Muhammad suggesting Usman got very emotional during their exchange, which he believes is the reason the episode wasn`t published.
“If you`re an adult man and you start crying and tearing up on your own podcast, why would you ever want to release that?” Muhammad stated. “Unless they have a really skilled editor who can fix it, but I doubt they have the budget for that.”
Muhammad also responded to former interim champion Colby Covington, who also tried to provoke him during a recent visit to the UFC Performance Institute this week.
In a video posted on social media, Covington was seen laughing about hiding Muhammad`s prepared meals and calling the current UFC welterweight champion a “f***ing bum.”
Covington, who is currently on a two-fight losing streak with his last win against Jorge Masvidal back in 2022, seemed proud of his antics. However, Muhammad quickly pointed out that he is scheduled to fight in Montreal this week, not in Las Vegas where the UFC Performance Institute is located.
“He hid my food? I`m not even in Vegas,” Muhammad said. “That just shows what a moron he is. I have no idea what he thinks he`s doing.”
“These guys act like internet personalities now. Kamaru is a podcaster, Colby is a YouTuber. They should start a podcast together – it could be called `The Biggest Losers`.”
Marcus Blakely