UFC Welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov believes he should be the only name mentioned when discussing Belal Muhammad’s next opponent.
Muhammad went into his UFC 307 bout as a relative underdog with many fans but pulled out a career best performance to entirely dominate the five round contest against Leon Edwards in front of a UK crowd to be crowned the new Welterweight champion.
In an exclusive interview with Submission Radio, Rakhmonov admitted he was one of those who couldn’t see a route to victory for ‘Remember The Name’ but was impressed with his performance. He said:
“I didn't think that Belal would do it, but he did a great job. You know, he performed really well and he's a deserving champion. And right now, you have one more thing to do is try to defend his belt against me. Let's see who's a better fighter, me or him?”
In discussing how he sees a potential fight between Muhammad and himself playing out, the unbeaten Welterweight sees the contest being a war of attrition, with the winner being the man who can impose his game in the most dominant fashion.
“I think it will be a very competitive fight. I don't think about it as an easy fight. It's going to be a hard fight and whoever forces his own style on his opponent is going to win. Even though it's not going to be easy, I believe I'm going to the winner at the end.”
Although nothing has been officially confirmed, it appears to be a two horse race as to who Muhammad will face in his first defence – with the other being former Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. The number 3 ranked Rakhmonov revealed in the interview that the UFC see him as the number one contender.
“The UFC think that I'm the number one contender and I should be next because there's no clear contender anyway. I got 100% finishes or wins in UFC. So I rightfully should be next. Everyone else also very close, but I think they need one more or a couple wins to get this title shot, so I should be next.”
Usman has made no secret of the fact he wants to face the current champ in his pursuit to reclaim UFC gold but ‘Nomad’ is struggling to understand how and why the former champion believes he deserves a shot.
“I don't know what he's thinking about, like, I think it's kind of shame to ask for a title shot after losing three fights straight. In my head, I cannot get my head around it. But yeah, it is what it is.”
When asked if he had a message for Muhammad, Rakhmonov kept it short and sweet.
“All I can say to Belal (is) to get ready, there's nowhere to run. This fight has to happen next and the case will close and we'll see who is a better man. That's it.”
You can watch the full interview, below:
