Shavkat Rakhmonov blasts Kamaru Usman for calling for a welterweight title shot as he sends the champion a warning message
08/28/2024 11:55 AM
Undefeated UFC welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov has slammed former champion Kamaru Usman for calling for a title shot despite coming off the back of three losses.
Following Belal Muhammad‘s underdog win over Leon Edwards this past July at UFC 304, several of the welterweight contenders put their hand up to be first to challenge the newly crowned champion.
Shavkat Rakhmonov seemed to be the next in line following his extremely impressive six-fight finishing streak, with his last coming against Stephen Thompson.
Shavkat Rakhmonov blasts Kamaru Usman for putting his name in the hat
Following the biggest win of his career, Muhammad admitted that he would like his first title defense to come against either Rakhmonov or Kamaru Usman.
At this moment, the ‘Nomad’ is the far more likely opponent considering his undefeated record and run of six consecutive finishes since joining the promotion in 2020.
The 29-year-old is only behind Usman and Edwards in the rankings, and ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is currently on a three-fight losing skid, with his last fight having come at middleweight, making it hard to believe he will be favored over Rakhmonov.
“I don’t know what he’s thinking about, I think it’s kind of shame to ask for a title shot after losing three fights straight, I cannot get my head around it, but yeah, it is what it is,” Rakhmonov said in an interview with Submission Radio.
The 37-year-old Nigerian hasn’t fought since October last year when he lost to Khamzat Chimaev, and since then, he has been constantly flirting with the idea of moving up to 185lb full-time for the remainder of his career.
Shavkat Rakhmonov sends a warning message to Belal Muhammad
Although the 36-year-old champion has recently stated that he wants his first title defense to take place in December, Rakhmonov has claimed that he won’t be ready to defend before the end of the year.
“After all the talk of being an active champion, truth is Belal isn’t even ready to defend his title this year,” he claimed.
Rakhmonov has stated that he will be ready to fight Muhammad whenever the UFC wants him to, with him hoping that it will be before the end of the year, sending ‘Bully B’ a fierce message.
“For me, I’m actually ready at any time so before the end of the year or whenever the UFC wants to organize this fight whenever Belal is ready, this year or early next year, I don’t care, I’m ready to win the belt and bring it back to Kazakhstan.
“Get ready, there’s nowhere to run, this fight has to happen next and the cage will close and we’ll see who is the better man,” Rakhmonov said.
