Belal Muhammad explains how Khabib Nurmagomedov changed the game

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has revealed how Khabib Nurmagomedov changed the game.

As we know, Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from mixed martial arts with an incredible 29-0 record. He walked away as the undisputed UFC lightweight champion, with many believing he belongs in the greatest of all time conversation.

RELATED: Khabib Nurmagomedov says he only had a minor role in Belal Muhammad’s title win at UFC 304: “I just helped him in small things”

Since then, his friends and training partners Islam Makhachev and Belal Muhammad have also captured gold. Belal was the most recent to become champion, defeating Leon Edwards in comprehensive fashion this summer to become the new welterweight king.

In a recent interview, Muhammad spoke candidly about how Khabib was a true game-changer.

Khabib set the stage for an era of Muslim fighters 🔥
Insha’allah many more champions on the rise ✨ pic.twitter.com/cbOHonyaj6

— faryal mohammed (@faryalmohammed) September 25, 2024

Muhammad praises Khabib

“I think for Khabib it was just different, because he was the first Muslim champion. He opened the roads for the rest of us. It wasn’t expected, especially with him, because he was bringing the religion into the fight game. It never was like that.

“Now, people understand what the religion is. When you have him on the mic saying be good to your parents. When you have them speaking about the religion more so than himself. A different champion, a humble champion, where he’s not going out flashing cars, clothes, this, this and that. For him now, it set the standard of what a Muslim champion is. He was the first. Now you have Islam, now you have me, so now it’s kind of more expected.”

Do you think there is a chance we will see Khabib Nurmagomedov return to active competition? What is your favorite memory from his career, and will we see more of his training partners go on to claim UFC gold? Let us know your thoughts on this, BJPENN Nation!