Kamaru Usman is not worried about being leapfrogged by the winner of Belal Muhammad and Ian Machado Garry.
Muhammad (24-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) takes on Machado Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in a pivotal welterweight clash which co-headlines Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 265 (ESPN+) event at ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar.
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Machado Garry is confident that a win over former champion Muhammad makes him No. 1 contender, but Usman thinks otherwise. He also questions if Muhammad would now be willing to fight Islam Makhachev after he claimed the welterweight title at UFC 322.
“I don’t think either guy this puts them up for a title shot,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo. “Not long ago did (Machado Garry) just lose to Shavkat Rakhmonov. That was not that long ago. Yes, of course, he was able to outsmart (Carlos) Prates and get that win, but not long ago did he lose to Shavkat. If Belal is able to win that, so?
“Not just so, now you want to challenge the man you didn’t want to challenge you to fight for the title? Because you said that was my brother, I trained with him, I don’t want him to challenge me for the title? What are we in this for if it’s not for the gold? So are you as close as you say you were, or were you just faking it just because you didn’t want to be challenged?”
Usman is currently lobbying for a title shot, and has Makhachev reciprocating interest. The former five-time defending champion revealed who he’s leaning toward in the Muhammad vs. Machado Garry fight – and Muhammad’s prediction concerns him.
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“One guy just likes to put his foot in his mouth: ‘Canelo hands, I’m gonna box him.’ When you start to do that, I feel like it’s not so much tactics anymore,” Usman said of Muhammad. “You’re not thinking too much. You’re trying to play a game to fans and pander to all these people to where I do think Garry can stay focused on task and can get the job done. It’s a tough one, but I might have to lean toward Garry. It’s a tough one, even though Belal has the ability to completely win this fight, but I do lean toward Garry.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Kamaru Usman: Ian Machado Garry not No. 1 contender with UFC Qatar win
