Belal Muhammad seems to have finally realized that he needs to launch a serious PR offensive if he’s hoping to get a title shot in the welterweight division. The division has been locked up for several years, even prompting Chimaev to move to middleweight to avoid the log jam on top.
Jorge Masvidal maintains a high place in rankings despite 3 consecutive losses all thanks to his considerable star power and fanbase.
Colby Covington is no different, he seems adamant to only compete ‘up’ in rankings.
Gilbert Burns is one of the rare competitors that was able to break through briefly and be ranked at number 2 but sadly his title shot against Usman didn’t go according to plan despite wobbling Usman seriously in round 1.
Leon Edwards had to wait for years for his title shot, thanks to the pandemic and ultimately succeeded in securing and even defending the title. But now it’s more of the same, with Covington waiting in the wings to get another crack at the title.
Middleweight doesn’t seem to be as crowded – and Adesanya was close to lapping the division ahead of his match with Pereira. To his credit, he didn’t avoid any opponents and simply called them out in order.
This didn’t go unnoticed and recently received praise from Belal Muhammad. Muhammad told Jason Anik:
“Guys like Israel Adesanya who would call out these guys, and guys that don’t have the the biggest following or anything. Cannonier is the hungriest guy right now. I want to call out Cannonier or PEREIRA, who only has two in the UFC.”
“Let me get Yoel Romero. Let me get the guys who did it, who everybody was like, man, he’s calling out these guys. These guys are all hungry. It wasn’t: ‘Let me get this rematch. Who’s the one that’s going to make me the most money?'”
Muhammad also praised Adesanya’s move up, and choice to face Jan Blachowicz.
“hat’s not a guy with a big name at all. But he wanted to test himself against the toughest competition. And that’s why I don’t think those type of champions get the respect that they deserve. It’s like Volkanovski fought the next best guy that was in line every single time he left from Korean Zombie.”