Belal Muhammad explains how Colby Covington title shot “worked out better” for him in the long run

Belal Muhammad has explained how Colby Covington getting a UFC title shot has actually worked out quite well for him.

While it has yet to be officially booked, Colby Covington looks set to challenge for the UFC welterweight championship in his next fight. He’ll do so against Leon Edwards, the man who defeated Kamaru Usman twice to cement his status as the new king of the mountain at 170 pounds.

The decision to put Colby in that spot, of course, led to a lot of backlash within the division. One man who has made his feelings for ‘Chaos’ crystal clear in recent times is none other than Belal Muhammad.

Muhammad, who is riding a strong unbeaten streak right now, is set to battle Gilbert Burns on short notice at UFC 288 next month. In a recent interview, he spoke candidly about Covington getting the chance to battle Edwards.

“That was the cool thing about the whole situation,” Muhammad said. “Them giving the shot to Colby, I think it, like, worked out better for me because that’s when the fans started being like, ‘All right, well, bro, that doesn’t make any sense at all. This guy’s on an eight-fight winning streak. He has history with Leon. What else does he need to do?’ Even the haters, I was getting so many messages, like, ‘I hate you, but you deserve the title fight.’”

Muhammad prepares for war

Belal also touched on his fight against Burns next weekend.

“I don’t think Gilbert’s fought anybody that’s gonna push it like me, move like me, adjust like me, make in-fight adjustments like (me). You see me fight backward, you see me fight forward, you see me fight laterally. He doesn’t know what I’m gonna bring to the table. I know what he’s gonna bring to the table, because I’ve been watching him. He doesn’t really change his game plan or his style up. And this being a short-notice fight, there’s not a lot of strategy that comes in it from his side. It’s like, ‘Well, I’m gonna do this because I’m good at it,’ but I’m better at what you’re good at.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

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