Belal Muhammad is sitting at No. 4 in the UFC welterweight division. He has zero defeats in his last nine bouts. So why the heck did he agree to step in on short notice to fight No. 5 ranked Gilbert Burns at UFC 288 on Saturday?
How Belal Muhammad vs. Gilbert Burns came together
In short, it’s because the UFC needed to save the event. The UFC 288 co-main event originally featured former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira opposite Beneil Dariush. Oliveira, however, withdrew because of an injury. That bout has been rescheduled for June 10 at UFC 289 in Vancouver, British Colombia.
With Burns unscathed from his domination of Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287 and Muhammad returning from his observance of Ramadan, which is part of his Islamic faith, officials saw an opportunity for a blockbuster bout. Muhammad versus Burns easily matches, and may even eclipse, the drawing power of Oliveira versus Dariush.
Burns was already next in line for a title shot following a planned bout between current UFC champion Leon Edwards and top contender Colby Covington. He was more than willing to serve as a back-up to that bout and wait for the winner. That is, until he found out that Edwards wasn’t going to fight this summer as planned, but instead requested a delay until at least October before he returns to the Octagon.
Not wanting to sit idle for the long, Burns jumped at the chance for a five-round war with Muhammad. Fresh off of a stellar camp for Masvidal and a successful bout, the fight with Muhammad would help keep him in shape and perhaps even elevate his status beyond Covington’s if things drag on for too long.
Belal Muhammad didn’t need to fight at UFC 288… until he did!
“I don’t need a fight. I’m on an eight-fight winning streak. I don’t need to take a two-week notice fight to fight a guy who is No. 5 in the world who just had a camp. He has everything to gain from it. I’m ranked higher than him,” Muhammad recently told CBS Sports reporter Shakiel Mahjouri.
Having already been sidelined since October of 2022, Muhammad, despite sitting one spot higher in the rankings, saw his title shot being swiped up by Burns.
With a title shot in the offering for whoever wins this fight, Muhammad is just as motivated as his UFC 288 opponent. It is his opportunity to reclaim his position next in line for the belt.
“Is this going to be the one that’s going to give me the gold next? Is it the one that’s going to get me the title shot? That’s all they needed to tell me,” and that is what they told him. “If my next fight is going to be for the title, then I’m 100% in.”
Why did Gilbert Burns accept short-notice bout when he was demanding a title shot?
“Nobody is going to hand you anything.”
It may not seem fair for Muhammad to get leap-frogged by Burns, but mixed martial arts is very much a “what have you done for me lately” type of sport. It’s easy for an idle fighter to get lost in the shuffle. That’s a fact that has never been lost on Muhammad.
“Nobody is going to hand you anything. I knew that right from when I got to the UFC. Anything that I wanted, I was going to have to claw my way to grab it and get it. Knowing, even with this fight right here, it’s still me clawing to grab it and get it,” Muhammad continued.
“After winning this to get to the title that I know I’m going to get, it’s just going to make all this extra stuff, all these extra hurdles that I had to go over, it’s going to make it that much sweeter and that much better to have that gold wrapped around my waist.”