Looking Back at the Time ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ Mocked Him Over Holding the UFC Belt

 Belal Muhammad and Kamaru Usman have fired shots at each other on quite a few occasions since the former claimed the UFC welterweight gold at UFC 304. Recently, Muhammad clapped back at Usman once more after discovering one of his previous deriding comments. In reply to Usman’s remarks, Muhammad implied that “The Nigerian Nightmare” era had passed years ago.

Belal Muhammad Inferred That Kamaru Usman Was Far Past His Prime

A large chunk of the UFC community hails Usman as one of the best welterweight champions in the history of the promotion. “The Nigerian Nightmare” claimed the welterweight gold at UFC 235 with a unanimous decision victory over Tyron Woodley.

Usman held the welterweight title for over three years with five successful title defenses before losing it to Leon Edwards at UFC 278 in 2022. During his title reign, the 37-year-old also bagged the top spot in UFC’s best pound-for-pound fighters list, which speaks volumes about his prowess at welterweight.

Usman failed to reclaim the welterweight title in the rematch with Edwards at UFC 286. However, Muhammad’s emergence as the welterweight king at UFC 304 provided the Nigerian-American with a ray of hope about winning the title once more.

Shortly after Muhammad’s UFC 304 victory, Usman started firing shots at him to gain his attention. “Remember The Name” came up with befitting replies for the former welterweight king, marking the beginning of their feud, which has continued to this day.

A recent Instagram post from ESPN MMA highlighted Usman’s deriding remarks about Muhammad’s UFC title photoshoot with Islam Makhachev after his victory at UFC 304. The 37-year-old made fun of the fact that Makhachev had to help Muhammad get into a proper pose with his title for the photoshoot. His comment read, “Islam had to teach him [Muahmmad] how to hold the belt”.

Muhammad replied to Usman’s deriding remarks with a mocking comment. He implied that the former welterweight champ was past his prime in the UFC, mentioning, “Nah, he was just showing me your old fingerprints on it.”

Despite firing an array of shots at Muhammad, Usman hasn’t been successful in getting himself into the title scenario. A major opportunity is coming his way to prove his worth once more and possibly get in the hunt for the welterweight title.

Usman will lock horns with the surging welterweight contender, Joaquin Buckley, at UFC on ESPN 69 on June 14. A win over the seventh-ranked contender is expected to help him get in the run for the title, besides Ian Machado Garry, Shavkat Rakhmonov, and others.