Belal Muhammad explains why he’s not interested in Shavkat Rahkmonov fight: “I’m only looking upwards”

Belal Muhammad isn’t too interested in fighting Shavkat Rakhmonov next time out.

After Leon Edwards defended his welterweight title at UFC 286, Dana White announced the Brit would face Colby Covington next and Muhammad would take on Rakhmonov. Both fights caught many by surprise, including Muhammad who thought he was either getting a title shot or someone in front of him next.

Not only was Muhammad surprised by Dana’s comments, but he also didn’t see a need for that fight. He just fought someone below him, in Sean Brady, and thought he deserved someone ranked above him.

“I’m never a guy that shies away from the tough fights,” Muhammad said to MMAFighting. “I’ve been calling for the toughest fights forever and he’s obviously on a good run, a streak, but I just beat the hot prospect [in Sean Brady]. I just beat the guy that was 15-0. He’s a dangerous fighter, but to me it’s still fighting backwards. It’s fighting downwards. It’s fighting another guy that [if] you beat him, ‘Well, he wasn’t as good as we thought he was. Who’s that?’

“After beating Sean Brady, [I heard], ‘Oh, Sean Brady sucks, he’s nobody, you think you’re going to get a title shot off of that?’ I’m sitting there thinking if Sean Brady would have won, Sean Brady would have got the title fight,” Muhammad continued. “Sean Brady would have been next in line because he would have been 16-0 and they’re like, ‘This guy is amazing!’”

As of right now, Belal Muhammad says the fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov has not been offered. But, even if it does, he admits he doesn’t have much interest in it and instead has his eyes on Kamaru Usman to prove he should get the next title shot.

“For me, now, I’m only looking upwards,” Muhammad said. “The only guys upwards are Colby, Leon, and Kamaru. Kamaru didn’t take no damage in this fight and he’s still fighting, he’s still talking about fighting — I think that’s a fight that makes sense. I’ve had to the two title challengers in my résumé, I beat Demian Maia, I beat ‘Wonderboy’ [Stephen Thompson]. I had the hot contender in [Vicente] Luque — I beat Luque. I had the hot prospect in Sean Brady. The only thing I don’t have on my résumé is that name everybody recognizes, everybody knows, and that was a former champion. A guy that people consider one of the best welterweights to do it.

“If that’s the name that is going to get me a [title] shot — if it’s going to be somebody, it’s going to be either Usman, Colby, or Leon. It’s only fighting upwards from here. I think that’s the only way I’m going to be guaranteed anything,” Muhammad concluded.

Who do you think Belal Muhammad should fight next?