Henry Cejudo was caught in the middle as two former welterweight champions went at each other.
Ahead of his first title defense at UFC 315, Belal Muhammad was set to appear on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, hosted by Cejudo and Kamaru Usman.
The episode was cut short with no footage being released after Muhammad and Usman got into an altercation after words were exchanged.
Both men had been critical of one another for some time but this podcast recording has turned their back-and-forth into a legitimate rivalry.
Usman claimed that they’d need security if he came across Muhammad in Montreal earlier this month with there being unfinished business between the two veterans.
Henry Cejudo says Kamaru Usman started the altercation with Belal Muhammad before punches were thrown
In a recent appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast, Henry Cejudo provided some more details about the unseen brawl between Belal Muhammad and Kamaru Usman.
With no footage being released from the short time that they did record for, we only have the stories from the people in the room.
‘Triple C’ gave his version of events after stating that he was caught between the two of them in trying to make the podcast run smoothly.
“I was kind of like the mediator there. You know, ‘Hey, what’s up Belal, what do you think of Kamaru? Kamaru, what do you think of Belal?’ And then s— just started kinda escalating. I’ll be honest with you man, probably Kamaru started it, but I could see why, you know what I’m saying?
“So then all of a sudden, I think Kamaru said it’s on sight and then Belal said, ‘Well it’s on sight, what’s up?’ Kamaru gets up and then you guys got to wait until we release the tape.”
Cejudo went on to say that as soon as the tension turned into something physical, the two men were separated by the crew that were on set for the record.
Despite this, it wasn’t enough to stop a few blows from being traded between two former welterweight champions.
“Legit, there was a scuffle there dude. I was in the middle, I had a f—— sprained ankle, I was trying to help. The whole production crew, like everybody started coming in. They had to take both of them. There was about a good maybe eight people there, like four was trying to get on Belal, but hands were thrown. Punches were thrown, slaps were given.”
Belal Muhammad should be campaigning for a fight with Kamaru Usman when he returns
Kamaru Usman is set to make his long awaited return to the Octagon on June 14 to face Joaquin Buckley in Atlanta.
Regardless of whether ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ bounces back into the win column or suffers a fourth consecutive defeat, he’s the opponent that Belal Muhammad should be pushing for once he makes his return.
Muhammad losing the title in his first defense puts him in a tricky position but a grudge match with Usman, where they can release the footage in the build up to fight night, might be his best shot at regaining some momentum.
The welterweight division is full of new and exciting contenders right now so the best move for two men that have already been to the top is to face off against each other.