Shavkat Rakhmonov: 'It's kind of a shame' for Kamaru Usman to ask for title shot

Shavkat Rakhmonov criticizes Kamaru Usman for trying to insert himself into the UFC welterweight title picture.

Former champion Usman never called for a title shot, but he has recently been trading barbs with champion Belal Muhammad. That even prompted Muhammad to tell MMA Junkie that he’d be open to making his first title defense against either Rakhmonov or Usman in December.

Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is confident he’s next but thinks Usman has no business being in the title conversation. Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) has lost three straight – two to Leon Edwards in title fights, then a short-notice fight against Khamzat Chimaev at middleweight.

“I don’t know what he’s (Usman) thinking about,” Rakhmonov told Submission Radio through an interpreter. “Like, I think it’s kind of a shame to ask for a title shot after losing three fights straight. Like in my head, I cannot get my head around it. But yeah, it is what it is.”

If Rakhmonov is able to dethrone Muhammad, he sees two top contenders as frontrunners for title shots – none of which are Usman.

“There’s a few good guys in the division who are very close to a title shot,” Rakhmonov said. “I can say that Jack Della Maddalena, Ian (Machado) Garry. Maybe they should fight each other, and the winner should be next for the title after me.”