Belal Muhammad has won eight out of his previous nine bouts, with one ending in a no-contest.
He is on a roll in the welterweight class. Muhammad has moved up to fourth place among UFC’s 170-pound rankings due to his outstanding run.
He’s in a bit of an uncertain position, however. This is because the UFC is planning for a rematch between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.
Belal Muhammed recently livestreamed and blasted the concept of rapid rematches.
Muhammad said during a recent Instagram live chat:
“We’re talking numbers, we’re talking rankings…you want to make this a real sport.”
“If you want to make this a real sport, there’s no rematches once you lose the Super Bowl. You lose the Super Bowl, you lost the Super Bowl, that’s it, you’re going to have to wait until next year. ”
“You don’t get a, ‘Ahh, man. That was a lucky pass. Nah, you lost, you don’t get the rematch right away. You’ve got to go through a whole other season to try and get back there again.”
Of course, Muhammad sang a different tune after his no contest against Leon Edwards. The two squared off for a title eliminator a while back but Muhammad got eyepoked and was unable to continue.
Leon Edwards subsequently got his title shot and managed to dethrone Usman, while Belal is still waiting in the wings thanks to his style getting characterized as ‘boring’.
Belal Muhammad has been vying for a UFC title shot for some time.
In an effort to better his MMA skills, he even went out of his way to train with Khabib Nurmagomedov for his most recent bout. The effort paid off and he TKOed Sean Brady in Abu Dhabi in a rare finish.
Muhammad encouraged Kamaru Usman to sit back and relax as he challenges Leon Edwards for the championship.
“So, Usman, sit down a little bit, relax, heal up, [and] let me fight Leon Edwards.”
Of course Muhammad is unlikely to get a title shot any time soon. Edwards has a long standing beef with UFC star Jorge Masvidal and even promised first title shot to Masvidal ahead of Usman match.
With the rematch likely happening in March, it’s not hard to see Masvidal waiting in the wings and hoping to be the back up in case Usman or Edwards were to injure them selves.