Belal Muhammad vs. Kamaru Usman should be next

Belal Muhammad vs. Kamaru Usman is a fight that's been suggested numerous times now. The two men have a well-known feud dating back to an unreleased appearance Muhammad made on Usman's Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry podcast back in 2024. Now, two years later, it's a fight that makes even more sense with both men in their twilight years.

Belal Muhammad vs. Kamaru Usman must happen

Back in 2024, when their feud first broke out, Belal Muhammad and Kamaru Usman were in very different places in their careers, at least relative to each other. Muhammad was the newly minted UFC welterweight champion, having just dominated Leon Edwards in enemy territory, beating him via unanimous decision at UFC 304. The win extended Muhammad's unbeaten run to 11 fights with no losses. Usman, by contrast, was on a three-fight losing streak, having lost the belt to Edwards via fifth-round knockout at UFC 278. At the time, Muhammad made an appearance on the Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry podcast hosted by Usman and ex-two-division champion Henry Cejudo.

Unfortunately, that episode was never released, and the reason things went south between Muhammad and Usman may never be fully known. However, if Muhammad is to be believed, it all comes down to Usman allegedly belittling his then status as welterweight champion by pointing to his own championship past, while, again, allegedly claiming that everything Muhammad did, he did better. This, according to Muhammad's account, prompted him to mock Usman by telling him he didn't take Edwards' head kick better than he did, leading to a physical altercation, which Muhammad claims to have gotten the better of. The feud quickly drew attention, but  at the time, an official UFC fight between the two was out of the question. Muhammad was the champion, and Usman was on a three-fight skid and nowhere near a title shot.

Now, though, things have changed. Muhammad failed to defend his belt, losing it at UFC 315 via unanimous decision to Jack Della Maddalena, and has since found himself on his own three-fight losing streak. Meanwhile, Usman briefly managed to break his losing streak with a unanimous decision win at UFC on ESPN 69, where he defeated Joaquin Buckley. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to string together a win streak, immediately losing to Dricus du Plessis at middleweight in his next bout at UFC Fight Night 281. It was such a lopsided loss that Usman has considered retirement, and it's an option that Muhammad should consider as well, but not before both men face each other in one final fight.

Muhammad is 38 years old, while Usman is 39. They're aging, on career-worst rough patches, and almost certainly never fighting for the title ever again. They'll continue to lose if they're matched up against the current crop of top welterweights, and being stepping stones for the current generation of fighters isn't how either man will want to end their career. The only sensible fight left is against each other, where the winner can ride off into the sunset with a win over a former champion, an established name, and having settled a bitter rivalry that could draw fan interest as either a Fight Night main event or a numbered card co-main event.