'You gotta give it to Kamaru'… Joe Rogan claims the UFC 'owe' Kamaru Usman the next welterweight title shot
13/09/2024 17:23
Current UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has opened up the door to a few different contenders for his first title defense but Joe Rogan believes it should be against Kamaru Usman.
Following his underdog win against Leon Edwards in Machester back in July, Belal Muhammad has talked about the fact that he wants to be an active champion and has highlighted a few contenders for his first defense.
Undefeated contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov, seemed to be a shoe-in for the next title shot following his impressive six-fight finish streak in the UFC, however, Muhammad flirted with the idea of defending his belt against Kamaru Usman next.
Joe Rogan claims the UFC ‘owe’ Kamaru Usman the next welterweight title shot
Despite ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ being on a three-fight losing skid and his last fight having come at middleweight, the idea has seemingly begun to pick up some momentum.
Following his late notice step-in loss to Khamzat Chimaev in October last year, the 37-year-old talked about potentially moving up to 185lbs full time but has since stated that he will return to welterweight.
With that, UFC commentator and icon, Joe Rogan, has claimed that the promotion ‘owe’ the former champion the next title shot because of his willingness to fight ‘Borz’ on short notice.
“I think they give (Belal Muhammad) Kamaru (Usman), that’s the big money fight, it’s the smart fight. They owe Kamaru for Kamaru taking Khamzat (Chimaev) on 10 days’ notice,” Rogan claimed on the Joe Rogan Experience.
“And also, a three-rounder instead of a five-rounder. When he won the third… It looked to me like he was coming on in third. He had to figure him out, and also had to trust his gas tank.
“The guy trained ten days for one of the scariest motherf*ckers on Earth. On Earth! I say you gotta give it to Kamaru because I think Kamaru earned it from that alone.
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Belal Muhammad’s first title contender is unknown for now
‘Remember The Name’ recently claimed that he thinks Usman is a tougher fight than what Rakhmonov is because he sees holes in ‘The Nomad’s’ game.
“For me, I would think Usman’s a tougher fight. When I see Shavkat, I see a lot of holes and I see many paths to victory,” Muhammad told MMAFighting.
Another reason why Rogan believes the UFC should give Usman the next title shot, is because he is now 37 years old and so may not have many more years at the top of the division.
“You don’t have many more years of Kamaru now, he’s like 37… I say give him another shot. Shavkat, with every win he’s a legend. Bigger and bigger legend.”
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