Tempers can flare when fighters are in close quarters, especially when they compete in the same division. That’s what happened between Kamaru Usman and Belal Muhammad, a regretful altercation that turned physical, according to Usman’s podcast co-host Henry Cejudo.
Muhammad, then the reigning UFC welterweight champion, appeared on Usman and Cejudo’s “Pound 4 Pound” podcast. The episode never aired. According to Usman, a conversation about championship status spiraled into something neither fighter intended.
“When you become a champion, it validates a lot of things for you that maybe only you were able to see at one point,” Usman told CBS Sports ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event against Joaquin Buckley. “I think that’s what it did for him. In that process, I think he was doing and saying a couple of things that were a bit distasteful for me.”
Usman said the two tried to address their issues during the taping, but things escalated.
“He was on the podcast and we attempted to have a conversation about it, but unfortunately it didn’t go as I think either of us would have liked, at least on my part,” Usman said.
Check out the full interview with Kamaru Usman below.
Last month, Cejudo detailed the incident on the “JAXXON Podcast.” He confirmed that things turned physical and admitted that his co-host was most responsible.
“Kamaru said it’s on sight, and Belal said, ‘Well, it’s on sight, what’s up?'” Cejudo said. “And then Kamaru gets up… So legit, there was a scuffle there, dude. I was in the middle. I had a f—ing sprained ankle.
“I was trying to [get in the middle], the whole production crew started coming in. They had to detain both of them. There were about a good eight people there, and four [were] trying to get on Belal, but hands were thrown. Slaps were given.”
Muhammad recalled a similar story on the “Full Send Podcast,” painting Usman as unable to accept the power shift.
“Henry Cejudo was like, ‘How does it feel to be champion? You’re at the top now.’ And I said it feels good right now because everybody wants to listen to you, everybody thinks you’re the champ,” Muhammad said last month. “Usman’s like, ‘I was the champ, too.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, but you’re not the champ anymore.’ And then he just couldn’t let it go.”
What started as posturing quickly turned personal.
“I’m like, ‘No, bro, you’re on a three-fight losing streak.’ He’s like, ‘I still had the belt.’ I’m the champion now, and he just couldn’t give me my props,” Muhammad said. “Then he was like, ‘Anything you do, I do better than you.’ And then I was like, ‘But you didn’t take the head kick better than me.’ And I think that just triggered him.”
Usman had hoped to settle things in a more professional setting. “The Nigerian Nightmare” looked forward to fighting Muhammad in the Octagon before Muhammad lost the welterweight title.
“It’s unfortunate that he lost the title because that would have been a great fight between me and Muhammad,” Usman said. “It is what it is. We move on.”
