Belal Muhammad claims Kamaru Usman is being protected from him: “He’ll get smacked around by me”

Belal Muhammad believes Kamaru Usman is being protected from sharing the Octagon with him.

Muhammad and Usman have had beef stemming from an unaired edition of the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast. Muhammad and Usman allegedly got into a scuffle and “Remember The Name” claims he got the better of “The Nigerian Nightmare.” Usman has dismissed a potential clash with Muhammad under the UFC banner unless high stakes are involved.

In an interview with Farah Hannoun of MMAJunkie, Muhammad said he feels Usman is being kept away from him for good reason.

“I’ll straight up tell him that Kamaru’s a chicken, and he’s trying to protect him,” Muhammad said. “For Ali, he’s in a bad spot, right? Because Kamaru is his golden goose, and he knows that he’ll get smacked around by me. So, it’s like you got to protect him. Kamaru’s got like one chance left. You’re at that point now where he has to wait for that perfect fight, he’s putting out little feelers out there, and maybe he’ll get a title shot.”

Muhammad is scheduled to face Gabriel Bonfim in the UFC Vegas 118 headliner on June 6. The former UFC Welterweight Champion is out to prove it isn’t time for him to fall to the rising talent at 170 pounds. Bonfim is 28 years old and has a pro MMA record of 19-1 with 13 submission wins to his credit.

Bonfim is riding a four-fight winning streak. The lone defeat of his career occurred back in 2023 when he was stopped by Nicolas Dalby. In his most recent outing in Nov. 2025, Bonfim scored a second-round TKO finish over Randy Brown.

Do you think we’ll ever get to see Belal Muhammad vs. Kamaru Usman inside the Octagon or will UFC continue to match both ex-champions up against younger contenders? Share your opinion in the comments below.