Latest news with #RememberTheName
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Security Would Have To Be There'
Kamaru Usman returns from a year and a half away from the sport in June to take on Joaquin Buckley in a battle for welterweight contender status. And while we could be witnessing a changing of the guard from one generation to the next, there's unfinished business between Usman and current 170 pound champion Belal Muhammad. While the footage has never been released, Usman and Muhammad reportedly got into a brawl on the set of Kamaru's Pound 4 Pound podcast last year. In a new interview with ESPN, 'The Nigerian Nightmare discussed the incident and his feelings towards 'Remember The Name.' Advertisement 'There's allegedly a lot of speculation, you know?' he said of the podcast fist fight. 'A lot of things being said.' 'Belal is a guy that was always around and I never really paid attention to because I was doing what I needed to do,' Usman said. 'I was always fighting the next guy up, next guy up. I didn't really pay attention to Belal. But now that I'm forced to actually look at Belal, he's not bad. He's just good everywhere. And that's been working for him. So he's not bad. I'm never in any way discrediting that.' 'Once I was forced to pay attention to him, I started to kinda see the antics that go on outside of the cage, and I was never that guy. If I was champion and the next guy up was barking at me, then of course I would respond and then we get in there and we'd settle it. But Belal just seems to be a different type of champion who is willing to make memes and get on Twitter because he wants the attention. He craves that attention.' 'Even if you're a guy that's not in his division, he's willing to have that back and forth with you,' Usman continued. 'And for me, I just find it a little bit distasteful and I wasn't a part of it. Then he became champion, and he started to come at me with that energy. It was like, 'Oh, you have a problem with me? Well, if you have a problem, I don't really play on the internet. Let's talk it out.' And so we invited him on a podcast and ... it went how it went.' Advertisement 'That's all I can say. Eventually, hopefully, we'll release that podcast because he was only there for like maybe ten minutes. It wasn't really long. And then it was over and he left.' While Usman has a reputation for being a chill dude, he said there would have to be security on hand to keep things from popping off if the two ran into each other again. 'Probably, yeah,' he told ESPN. 'I'm very level headed, especially when I'm outside of the cage. But for the last two years, I haven't been in the thick of it.' 'When you're in the thick of it, you're on alert all the time. Me and George St-Pierre, we had this conversation where he expressed that to me. He's like, 'When you're in it, you're always this defensive guy.' And I hadn't been that for a while, but now that I'm back in the thick of it, yeah. They probably have to have security back there with us.' Advertisement Belal Muhammad defends his welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 on May 10th. Kamaru Usman fight Joaquin Buckley in the main event of a June 14th Fight Night in Atlanta. What happens after that depends on who wins and who loses ... or if there's enough security around to stop something from going down outside the cage. More from
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
UFC 315: UFC 315 mayhem: Dana White forced to intervene as face-off between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena nearly turns violent
The recent intense man-to-man staredown between welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and contender Jack Della Maddalena has raised the stakes further with the main event around the corner. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now While being present for a press conference staredown ahead of their headlining bout at UFC 315 on Saturday, things escalated quickly when Maddalena's extended fist triggered the reigning champion. Before things could have gotten out of hand, the UFC president, Dana White , and security intervened and resolved the face-to-face tiff to save it from becoming an explosive confrontation. Fists almost flew as UFC 315 fighters Belal Muhammad and JDM's face-off becomes heated As a usual practice to address the fans and media ahead of any major UFC event, White indulges in the Q&A surrounding the sport. On Thursday, the UFC president mainly spilled the beans on Ilia Topuria's next powerful bout as he eyes Islam Makhachev as a potential rival. After conversing with the media and fans, White had to go through an unforeseen and not ideal moment when Muhammad and Maddalena came face-to-face. Despite the two contenders being cordial about their upcoming bout, the sudden dismissal by Muhammad of his opponent's wide-stretched fist in front of his face caused White to take a quick measure to calm it down. By intervening between the two stars, White looked rather uncomfortable but succeeded in keeping the fighters apart. The showdown between Muhammad and Maddalena, live from Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, on May 10, is set to be a huge turning point in the welterweight division, considering who bags the victory. What is on the line for Belal Muhammad if he loses? If Muhammad loses the fight against 'JDM,' it will push Makhachev to 170 lbs and enter another weight division to become a two-weight UFC champion. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now If 'Remember The Name' succeeds in retaining his title, he will be on the lookout to face a new contender, and his lightweight training partner, Makhanchev, can rest easy as of now from entering a new weight division. With fans rooting for their favorites, it is certainly going to be an epic night full of MMA action. The sudden, intense moment between the fighters has indeed piqued the eagerness of the fans to witness the night. Also Read:
The Hindu
07-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
UFC 315: Belal Muhammad vs Jack Della Maddalena fight preview, fight card, streaming info
Montreal will play host to the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) most anticipated fight on May 11 as America's Belal Muhammad gears up to defend his title for the first time. Belal, who made his UFC debut back in 2016, had to wait for his shot at the welterweight title — eight years, to be precise. And when the opportunity arose, he stepped up and seized it with both hands. True to his nickname 'Remember The Name', Belal secured a statement unanimous decision win over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 to clinch the belt. Like a fine wine, Belal has improved with age and has become a master strategist inside the cage, combining endurance with relentless pace. He pairs this suffocating pressure with ever-improving striking technique to systematically break down and overwhelm his opponents. His fight record is indicative of his wait-and-strike approach — just six out of his 24 professional wins have come via finishes and the rest have been decisions. The strategy was evident in his bout against Edwards. Twenty seconds into the fight, Belal initiated a successful takedown as he pinned the Englishman towards the cage and dropped him in a flash. That was perhaps an indication of what was about to unfold. ALSO READ | UFC Des Moines: Sandhagen beats Figueiredo via TKO, calls for shot at bantamweight title With a total of nine takedowns and 68 significant strikes, Belal dominated his opponent for the majority of the fight and took home a convincing victory. That win marked his sixth straight triumph, extending an impressive unbeaten streak that now spans 11 fights over the past five years. REMEMBER THE NAME 🏆@BullyB170 defeats Leon Edwards by unanimous decision to become the NEW welterweight champion of the world! [ B2YB @ForThePeople | #UFC304 ] — UFC (@ufc) July 28, 2024 Standing across from him will be Perth's Jack Della Maddalena, a fighter who is also riding a massive wave of momentum. Initially scheduled to face Edwards earlier this year, circumstances now pit him against Belal. Della enters this title opportunity on an incredible 17-fight winning streak in professional MMA. Since joining the UFC roster after impressing on Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) in 2021, he has had seven consecutive wins, including five finishes. Belal will likely deliver grappling exchanges with relentless pressure, while Della will rely on his knockout power and finishing instincts. For Della, a victory would make him only the third Australian fighter — after Robert Whittaker and Alexander Volkanovski — to capture UFC gold. In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko prepares for the first title defence of her second reign against French contender Manon Fiorot. Shevchenko decisively reclaimed the championship from Alexa Grasso at UFC 306 last September. Now, 'Bullet' aims to demonstrate her enduring dominance as she enters her remarkable 12th consecutive flyweight title fight. Challenging her is the patient and powerful Fiorot. Since losing her professional debut, Fiorot has been undefeated, stringing together 12 wins on the trot, including seven victories within the UFC. She cemented her position as the No. 1 contender by dominating Erin Blanchfield last March. UFC 315: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena full fight card Main Event: Belal Muhammad vs Jack Della Maddalena Co-Main Event: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fioro José Aldo vs Aiemann Zahabi Alexa Grasso vs Natalia Silva Benoît Saint Denis vs Kyle Prepolec Prelims Mike Malott vs Charles Radtke Jessica Andrade vs Jasmine Jasudavicius Modestas Bukauskas vs Ion Cutelaba Navajo Sterling vs Ivan Erslan Marc-Andre Barriault vs Bruno Silva Daniel Santos vs JeongYeong Lee Brad Katona vs Bekzat Almakhan Streaming information UFC 315: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena will be streamed live on the SonyLIV app/website. The event will also be telcast across the Sony Sports Network.
