Belal Muhammad thinks Shavkat Rakhmonov and Kamaru Usman should ‘flip a coin’ about who should face him next. ‘Bully B’, of course, shocked the UFC world at UFC 304 and dominated Leon Edwards to win the welterweight title last month.

Since then, the question on most people’s minds is who should be the next rival for the Palestinian-American fighter. And Muhammad has helped Dana White and co. by suggesting the names of Rakhmonov and Usman in a recent interview.

Rakhmonov, of course, is clearly the most exciting 170-pounder in the promotion by far, not only going undefeated in his eighteen pro MMA fights so far, but having finished every one of his opponents for a perfect 100% finish rate! However, ‘Bully B’ does think that the Kazak has not fought enough big names to be the clear contender.

Usman, on the other hand, was the boogeyman of the division (and its long-standing champion) just two years ago and is among the greatest ever to lace up the fingerless gloves. However, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ last fought at middleweight and is 0-2 in his past two welterweight fights.

“Yeah honestly that [Shavkat Rakhmonov] would be a perfect matchup… I’m thinking Shavkat and [Kamaru] Usman, they’re both in the same gym. Usman has the legacy, right. He was the guy that Dana White says is better than GSP [former champ and GOAT contender Georges St-Pierre],” Muhammad told Brendan Schaub and Bryan Callen on their podcast.

“So I’m like you’re both in the same gym so flip a coin and then let’s see which one of you guys want to come out and fight me. ‘Cuz I’m like nobody really deserves a title shot right now, but so I’m willing to fight any one of them,” he added. And while Rakhmonov will be many people’s pick for the most suitable candidate, Usman may have pushed himself to the front of the line by picking a personal beef with the reigning champion.

Kamaru Usman and Belal Muhammad trade insults online

‘Bully B’ becoming champion has seemingly reinvigorated Usman’s drive to become champ once again. This was clear as the legendary former champion made an extremely incendiary X post against ‘bum’ Belal Muhammad, clearly firing the first shots and creating hype for what may well turn into a title bout against the American.

“Alright enough of the nice guy… you were never chasing me Bum. You were barely in rankings when i dominated the division. FYI I have a win over Leon son,” Usman wrote.

Muhammad, who is incensed and enraged with the UFC world for underestimating him for the longest time, responded in kind and did so with a vengeance. The Chicago native ridiculed the claim that Usman dominated the division, trashing not only his title reign but also Usman’s podcast with Henry Cejudo and appearance on 2022’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’

“u beat masvidal twice and went to cardio kickboxing war with colby twice (colby sucks). u were protected by ufc.. now u can barely walk… your podcast sucks ..and ur part in black panther sucked,” Muhammad responded with fire and brimstone. If Usman is indeed angling for a fight with Muhammad, he seems to have gotten one step closer to it. Who do you think Belal Muhammad should fight next?