In the aftermath of UFC 304, the buzz quickly shifted to Belal Muhammad‘s next challenge for his first title defense. Shavkat Rakhmonov has now become one of the frontrunners to land a title shot as he continues his impressive undefeated run, almost clinically. But the recently crowned champion wants to see Shavkat Rakhmonov hashing it out against former champion Kamaru Usman to settle the number one contender’s debate. Regardless, UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping doesn’t see any logic behind Muhammad’s idea.

Despite that, Belal Muhammad is still not comfortable considering him the real challenger to his throne, which Michael Bisping believes to be outlandish. Here’s what the UFC legend had to say.

Shavkat Rakhmonov is the clear winner No.1 contender, claims Michael Bisping

Belal Muhammad wanted to be a fighting champion, and he stressed that when he won the title. But his words haven’t converted into action after he called out Shavkat Rakhmonov, just like fellow welterweight star Ian Garry did over a month ago. But bringing in Kamaru Usman into the picture didn’t really make sense for Michael Bisping, who claims that ‘Nomad’, who has a hundred percent finish record, has proven enough to challenge for the divisional gold.

“There is nobody in the welterweight division with a more deserving shot than Shavkat Rakhmonov. 18 and 0, 19 finishes,” Michael Bisping stated on his YouTube podcast. “Some of the wins aren’t exactly over big superstars of the division, but… the masses [are] saying that Belal pulled an Ian Garry because he called out Shavkat as well… You get the props [from fans]… and then, down the line, the fight doesn’t materialize.”

A former champion like Kamaru Usman taking on an undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov is an interesting matchup, isn’t it? Of course, Michael Bisping and pretty much most fans would love to see. But given the current standing of the Kazakh star, the only logical step for him at this moment is to go for Belal Muhammad and the 170-pound title.

“He should fight Shavkat Rakhmonov. To say that Shavkat should fight Usman… I would love to see that fight… but I don’t think that’s the next fight [for Usman]. It’s got to be Belal Muhammad vs Shavkat Rakhmonov,” Michael Bisping added. Meanwhile, it’s also important to note that ‘Nomad’ has also claimed about being approached to fight for the title, a stunning revelation he made during a recent interview.

‘Nomad’ claims to have been offered a title shot after Belal Muhammad’s UFC 304 win

It may be a foregone conclusion in many MMA pundits’ minds that Shavkat Rakhmonov is the next in line for the title shot, but an official confirmation will what seal the deal. Yet, it seems like they predicted it right. While the UFC’s been quiet about the welterweight title picture as of now, the 18-0 star recently stated in an interview that the title shot was there for him on the table after UFC 304, but the only problem he faced was that Belal Muhammad wasn’t ready to fight owing to the need for recovery.

“I’ve already been offered a fight to fight Belal, and I accepted the fight against Belal … But unfortunately, he declined to fight me due to the timing issues. He wasn’t ready to defend his belt on that time. So we’ll see what’s going to happen and when he’s going to be ready so I will be able to fight him,” Shavkat Rakhmonov told ‘MMA Fighting’. Do you think he’s telling the truth?

Shavkat Rakhmonov has been relentless with his online jabs at Belal Muhammad, and they’ve even gone back and forth after the champion called him inactive. When we take a look at Kamaru Usman, he’s stepped up fairly recently for Dana White, at UFC 294, on very short notice to fight Khamzat Chimaev.

Could that help him bag a title shot? What do you forsee for the division? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.