Belal Muhammad reveals when he could make move up to middleweight

By Harry Kettle - October 22, 2024

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has provided an update on when he could move up in weight.

Belal Muhammad, UFC, MMA, Shavkat Rakhmonov, UFC 310

As we know, Belal Muhammad is the current king of the welterweights. He earned that distinction by domianting and defeating Leon Edwards earlier this year to officially capture the belt. Now, he’s preparing for a quick turnaround as he hopes to defend his crown against Shavkat Rakhmonov in December.

RELATED: Kamaru Usman answers calls to release Belal Muhammad podcast altercation footage: “Belal did Belal”

While many are surprised that he’s taking on such a challenge, for Muhammad, it’s just another day at the office. He wants to prove himself to the masses and he wants to do so as quickly as possible.

Now, in a recent interview, Muhammad has even revealed the possibility of him making a switch up to middleweight in search of a second belt.

Muhammad shoots for the stars

“In general, with any fighter, you have to cement yourself as the leader in the division and the guy that there’s nobody that can beat,” Muhammad said. “I think after Shavkat, you’ve got a couple of guys that are there. You got Ian Garry, you got JDM (Jack Della Maddalena) and you got Kamaru Usman. But some of those guys are going to have to fight each other now.

“There’s no just waiting on the sidelines saying, ‘I’m next. I got next, I earned it.’ I don’t think nobody’s really earned that next spot left, so there’s going to be guys that are going to be taking losses. The cream has to rise to the top.”

“Maybe one or two more fights, I think then I could start talking about middleweight and could start talking about double champ status,” Muhammad said. “When you look at the guys I’ve fought – what do I have? Six or seven wins in the top 10, top 15 of my division right now, so I’ve already fought all these guys even before getting to the title.

“So now that I’m at the champion status, it’s like, well OK, now I probably only got a couple more left before I can start talking about the bums at 185.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Will Belal Muhammad end the year as champion? Let us know your thoughts, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Belal Muhammad UFC