Belal Muhammad has seemingly taken another shot at Kamaru Usman by advising Joaquin Buckley to stop pursuing a fight against him. The rivalry between Muhammad and Usman reached another crescendo after their alleged altercation in 2024. The UFC welterweight kingpin clashed with “The Nigerian Nightmare” on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast that the latter hosts with Henry Cejudo.
Belal Muhammad Urges Joaquin Buckley to Move On From Potential Kamaru Usman Fight
During a recent conversation with MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun, reigning UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad was asked why Joaquin Buckley isn’t in the title conversation despite his impressive win streak. “Remember the Name” responded by indicating that Buckley has been lobbying for a fight against former UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, who hasn’t competed since October 2023.
Urging Buckley not to waste his time pursuing the Usman matchup, Muhammad said, “Yeah. I mean, he’s putting in effort, right? He’s talking, he’s doing this. Like, I’ve actually trained with him. And then people are like, ‘Oh man, he’s trying to call you out.’ I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m the champion. I don’t take none of that personally.’ Right?”
Muhammad continued, “I wanna fight these guys that are hungry and somebody that’s actually gonna promote with me and talk with me. I think that his thing is hard, right? ‘Cause he’s — I think he’s making the wrong call-outs. You’re trying to call out Usman, who’s just sitting on the sidelines not trying to fight.”
Muhammad also compared the Buckley-Usman situation to the Michael Chandler-Conor McGregor saga. Chandler’s MMA hiatus, from November 2022 to November 2024, was believed to be largely caused by his pursuit of a potential fight with McGregor.
Muhammad said, “So it’s kinda like the McGregor waiting game, where Chandler waited for him. And you’re, like, you waited for nothing because I don’t think Usman’s going to fight.”
Muhammad added that Buckley should have targeted other welterweight contenders such as Sean Brady, Ian Machado Garry or Carlos Prates. He also implied that Buckley’s recent win — a cut-induced doctor’s stoppage TKO over Colby Covington — wasn’t very convincing.
The Palestinian-American champ said it wasn’t a decisive win, unlike his own knockout of Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, which is probably why Buckley hasn’t been discussed as much.
Muhammad circled back to the podcast incident where claimed the episode hasn’t been released because it would make Usman look “stupid.” He again compared Usman to McGregor, saying both miss the spotlight but don’t actually plan to return to competition.
Muhammad is currently set to defend his UFC welterweight championship against Jack Della Maddalena in the main event of UFC 315 on May 10, 2025. Meanwhile, neither Usman nor Buckley has announced their next opponent or return date.