Makhachev And Usman’s Viral Face-Off

Originally posted on BoxingNews.com | Last updated Jan 27, 2026 12:11 AM ET

Islam Makhachev and Kamaru Usman stared down at UFC 324, as a future fight could follow.

The exchange was presided over by Khabib Nurmagomedov, who playfully acted as a mediator, telling both men to “be nice” as they stared each other down with grins. Makhachev is the welterweight champion after capturing the vacant title with a unanimous decision win over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in November 2025. Upon winning his second divisional belt, Makhachev immediately targeted Usman.

Meanwhile, Usman ended his poor run of form by defeating Joaquin Buckley in Atlanta last year. The victory ended his poor run, which included three defeats on the spin. Both Islam and Usman are managed by Ali Abdelaziz, who recently revealed that while the UFC explored booking the fight for the January 24 card, Makhachev opted for a summer return to allow for a full training camp following Ramadan. The following clip shows the pair having a face off.

Will It Happen?

Despite this being the case, not everyone is convinced that Usman deserves the fight. Former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad is one of those. Belal was undefeated in 11 fights before losing his title to Della Maddalena at UFC 315. The defeat was a shock to the system, as Belal also lost his next fight against Ian Machado Garry last November. The results means Belal has not secured a victory since beating Leon Edwards at UFC 304. And yet, Belal felt he deserved a title shot ahead of Usman.

“We see Islam [Makhachev] planting the seeds of Usman should be the next guy. I mean, obviously, they have the same manager. Obviously the manager has been planting seeds in his head of what he thinks should be next.

“Do I think Usman is an easier matchup for him? Of course.The guy’s fought one time in three years and he’s 1-3. I’m still ahead of you, even though I lost my last two fights, I’m still 2-2. You can talk, you can whatever you want. You turned down a fight, you didn’t want to fight and I don’t think it should earn you a title fight when you’re saying no to fights,” Belal said

This article first appeared on BoxingNews.com and was syndicated with permission.

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