Belal Muhammad says training with Khabib Nurmagomedov for UFC 304 has him on a “different level”

UFC contender Belal Muhammad believes training with Khabib Nurmagomedov has taken him to a new level.

This weekend, Belal Muhammad will challenge Leon Edwards for the UFC welterweight championship. It serves as the culmination of a real journey for the 170-pound star, as he attempts to claim the belt that has always eluded him.

He’ll be going up against Leon Edwards who, as we know, has been a fantastic champion thus far in the UFC. He knocked out Kamaru Usman to claim the belt, before going on to defend it against ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ and, most recently, Colby Covington.

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Muhammad, meanwhile, has enlisted the help of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev in recent years. In a pre-fight interview, Belal spoke candidly about the impact that’s had.

Muhammad praises Khabib

“It benefits me everywhere, right? Physically, mentally, spiritually. It just puts me on another level,” Muhammad told CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri. “Training with [Khabib] and getting advice from him is worth 20, 30, 40, 50 days with anybody else. Just being able to feel his strength, feel his pressure, feel his knowledge, too, that he gives you, and to have him give me advice and what he thinks I should be doing, what I should be doing for this fight and breaking down Leon and telling me what the game plan he thinks should be.”

“The knowledge is endless, because to me, I think he’s the GOAT of the MMA world in the UFC and just like a brother and that I could message and ask, and anytime I send a question, he’ll respond,” Muhammad continued. “So, it’s just literally priceless to have that guy in my life. There’s no hidden juice, hidden secret with the whole thing with them. Their team is just all about hard work. It’s just about overworking. And then when Khabib gets there, it’s twice the overwork and it’s twice the push. It’s a different level.”

Quotes via MMA Mania

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