No.4-ranked UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad is ready to get back in the Octagon.
‘Remember the Name’ was last seen at UFC 280 where he snapped Sean Brady’s undefeated streak with a second-round TKO. Muhammad has not lost a fight since January 2019, where fell to Geoff Neal via unanimous decision.
In the years since, the only blemish on Muhammad’s record is a no-contest in March 2021 against now-UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards. After seven long years in the UFC’s welterweight scene, ‘Remember The Name’ believes he’s ready for a title bout. He’s even suggested he should be the back-up fighter for the upcoming trilogy bout between Edwards and former champion Kamaru Usman.
However, it appears the UFC have a fellow welterweight stalwart in mind for ‘Remember the Name’ this year.
“I’ll Fight Colby” – Belal Muhammad On Next Match
In a recent interview with Helen Yee, Belal Muhammad made his case for being the rightful next challenger for the welterweight gold. He also claimed that the No.2-ranked Colby Covington doesn’t want to fight at the moment.
“I’m in a rough spot right now… the only guys above me are Khamzat [Chimaev] who’s moving up to middleweight, and then Colby who doesn’t want to fight,” Muhammad said. “So when I’m looking at it, there’s nobody else in line for the title but me.”
Muhammad went on to explain that he’d be happy to take on a fight with Colby Covington first if need be. When asked if the UFC had presented any next fight options to him, ‘Remember the Name’ confirmed Covington was the only option given to him.
“All they [the UFC] presented was Colby,” Muhammad explained. “They said Colby was down, then the next week they said Colby wasn’t down. And then they said he was down again. Then they said they can’t find him again, so I don’t know what’s happening with him.”
‘Chaos’ last fought at UFC 272 in March 2022. There, he bested friend-turned-nemesis Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision. A subsequent altercation between the pair at a steakhouse in Miami left ‘Chaos’ with a broken tooth. Covington has remained uncharacteristically quiet in the MMA world ever since.
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