Belal Muhammad beginning to embrace heel role due to some fan backlash: “I’m starting to like it”

UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad is ready to play the bad guy.

‘Remember The Name’ is fresh off his five-round clash against Gilbert Burns at UFC 288 earlier this month. In the short-notice co-main event, Muhammad scored a lopsided unanimous decision win over ‘Durinho’. In the process, he extended his undefeated streak to 10.

In that stretch, the welterweight contender has defeated names such as Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, and more. However, Muhammad still sits behind Colby Covington in the UFC’s welterweight rankings. ‘Chaos’ has been inactive for well over a year, but is in line for the next crack at champion, Leon Edwards.

Furthermore, Belal Muhammad’s winning streak hasn’t endeared him to all fans either. So, as the welterweight contender revealed in a recent interview with MMA Fighting, he’s willing to play the heel role. For the unaware, a “heel” is a bad guy in the world of professional wrestling.

The welterweight contender added that, unlike Covington, he doesn’t plan to be a cringy character. However, Muhammad is willing to blend his own personality to play the villain just a little bit.

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(via Cooper Neil/Zuffa LLC)

“If I have to go heel, I’ll go heel,” Belal Muhammad stated in the interview. “I’ll never get out of my character, I’ll always have fun with it no matter what. But maybe I’m starting to like that role a little bit. I think for me it’s all fun and I’m starting to like it. It’s not like I’m trying to go stupid, loser Colby [Covington] heel.”

He continued, “But, I’m going to have fun with the way I do it, with my personality… I used to watch wrestling in the heyday with ‘The Rock’ and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. Those were some of the best heel guys. The bad guys are some of the most popular guys out there, if I go that road I’ll be all right.”

What do you make of these comments from Belal Muhammad? Who do you want to see him fight next?