Shavkat Rakhmonov or Kamaru Usman . Those are the two names Belal Muhammad thinks expects to fight in his first title defense as UFC welterweight champion. Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC), who took the belt from Leon Edwards last month at UFC 304 in Manchester, England, thinks Rakhmonov likely is the next challenger, but he sees a world in which the promotion favors Usman given all he’s done in the division. “I see it being Shavkat,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “If he would’ve fought (Jack Della Maddalena), he could’ve been 100 percent the clear contender, but I think the fact that they were almost close to booking him with JDM – they were hesitant on it.
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