"I'm a better version of Colby Covington" - Belal Muhammad believes he has what it takes to dethrone Kamaru Usman

Colby Covington came the closest to beating Kamaru Usman out of all his challengers, which bodes well for Belal Muhammad. He sees himself as a better version of Covington and a solid match-up for the champion.

Muhammad is rematching Vicente Luque on Saturday in the main event of UFC Vegas 51, and a win for Muhammad gets him one step closer to his goal of a welterweight title shot. In a new interview with Yahoo! Sports, Muhammad explained how he believes he can beat Usman. He said:

"I want to fight Usman, that's the guy that's the pound for pound champ, the guy they say is unbeatable. But for me I see a lot of openings in his game and I see that my style really matches up well for him. I think that the guy that's given him his toughest fight is Colby Covington, and I think that I'm a better version of Colby Covington, so I think that me fighting him would make for a great fight."

Watch the full Yahoo! Sports interview with Belal Muhammad below:

Muhammad employed Covington's wrestling heavy style of fighting against Stephen Thompson in December 2021. He won that bout in decisive fashion, out-grappling Thompson badly to earn 30-25, 30-26, and 30-26 scores.

To get one step closer to Usman, 'Remember The Name' will first have to defeat Vicente Luque, who knocked Muhammad out the first time they met in 2016. Oddsmakers currently have Luque as a slight -170 favorite to Muhammad's +150 underdog.

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Colby Covington hasn't responded to Dana White's call for a fight with Khamzat Chimaev

Following Khamzat Chimaev's exciting victory over Gilbert Burns on the UFC 273 undercard, UFC president Dana White suggested he'd like Chimaev and Colby Covington to headline a card on ABC in the summer. Khamzat Chimaev made it clear that he'd fight anyone.

As for Covington, he has largely dropped offline since being assaulted by Jorge Masvidal outside a restaurant in Miami Beach.

In a recent interview, Sean O'Malley suggested that the silence indicated that Covington wasn't eager to accept the fight. He said:

“I don’t know if Colby takes that [Khamzat Chimaev] fight. Has Colby said anything about the fight, or has he kind of been silent about it?”

Chael Sonnen suggested the UFC would have to offer Covington something worthwhile to seal the deal. He said:

"You’re gonna put him in the main event, now he’s going to 25 minutes? 25 minutes with Chimaev. Chimaev and Colby, because of the way they fight, 25 minutes changes your life."

Watch Chael Sonnen discuss Covington vs. Chimaev below: