Shavkat Rakhmonov and Belal Muhammad are now getting knee-deep in their verbal battle. ‘Nomad’ is one of the clear choices to make a title defense against for the new UFC 170-pound champ. For which, Rakhmonov has been baiting him, calling him out on apparent duplicity. Muhammad, who rose to the championship belt amid many struggles, is not holding back on such claims and called out the undefeated fighter for his lack of ballot appearances this year. Now, he gets an answer,
At the UFC 304 pay-per-view, Muhammad snagged gold with his five-round domination. Many assumed that Belal Muhammad would veer between Rakhmonov or former UFC top pound-for-pound, Kamaru Usman. Rakhmonov recently revealed to MMAFighting on SBN that he had a title shot offer in October, which Muhammad turned down. Muhammad hit back, saying that the unbeaten brawler had not fought in 2024. As a result, he would have to fight former champion Usman in a top contender fight.
Do you have a case of selective memory, or did you just forget that you didn’t fight for 14 months before challenging for the belt?
Shavkat ‘Nomad’ Rakhmonov via X (@Rakhmonov1994)
On Sunday, the Kazakh fighter reminded ‘Remember the Name’ that he himself was on quite a long layoff before his crack at the gold. Additionally, Shavkat Rakhmonov previously insinuated that Muhammad hadn’t been true to his resolve as an active champ. The Palestinian American claimed that he was still on trial for his last win and thus initiated the barbs. Rakhmonov considers himself deserving of the shot and pours on the hits.
Do you have a case of selective memory, or did you just forget that you didn’t fight for 14 months before challenging for the belt? 🤫 https://t.co/BKLdRzZvhy
— Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov (@Rakhmonov1994) September 1, 2024
The champion welterweight out of Team Valle Flow Striking later also tweeted that top brass is only interested in floating the ‘Nomad’ as a title challenger. Consequently, Muhammad is opening up to that idea and will welcome that challenge.
Belal Muhammad feels he’s not dealing with ‘real’ Shavkat Rakhmonov
Less than a month removed from snagging gold against Leon Edwards, Belal Muhammad is amping up all the gears. The first Palestinian champion has had to face much ridicule for his stateside residency and slow-running streak. Hence, Muhammad is now not holding back his tongue and trading free shots and barbs at will.
After the Manchester UFC 304 pay-per-view main event, Muhammad has been an entertaining factor on social media. Industry veterans like Daniel Cormier say this is a good trait and gives viability to some prime rivalries. When the champion speaks someone’s name, it automates a rivalry in place. Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) vows not to back down as he defends his hold on the championship belt.
To that end, he has been engaging with Shavkat Rakhmonov. The mysterious fighter of few words out of Kazakhstan maintains proper dialogues on X. However, maintaining his newfound funnyman champion gig, Muhammad gibes that he is not dealing with the real Rakhmonov.
Selective memory ? Who’s tweeting for you bro there’s no translation for that in Kazakh
Belal Muhammad via X (@bullyb170)
Did someone employ Ali Abdelaziz again? There’s no telling…However, it has been fun to see “Bully Belal” rise to his role as the new UFC welterweight top dog. Once subject to memes and parodies, ‘Remember the Name’ has now given the fanbases a reason to do so.
With the 2024 season up to the brim, there are a few options left. UFC 309 on November 16 from Madison Square Garden or UFC 310 on December 7 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas might be the date where the war of words turns into a battle of giants.
