Belal Muhammad confirms that he isn’t interested in fighting Islam Makhachev

UFC welterweight title contender Belal Muhammad has confirmed that he isn’t interested in fighting Islam Makhachev.

At UFC 304, Belal Muhammad will challenge Leon Edwards for the UFC welterweight championship. It’s a fight he’s been after for a long time now, but up to this point, it hasn’t quite come to fruition. Alas, after the unbeaten run that Belal has put together, it’s impossible for the promotion to deny him this opportunity.

RELATED: Islam Makhachev reflects on sparring session with UFC champion Leon Edwards: “I took him down and held him”

There are plenty of reasons to believe that he could be the underdog. After all, Leon Edwards has already done some pretty great things in his career and as champion. However, it must be noted that Muhammad has spent a lot of time training with the likes of Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Following Makhachev’s win over Dustin Poirier last weekend, he noted that he wants to go up to 170 pounds in search of a second world title. When asked about possibly facing his friend and training partner, Muhammad had the following to say.

Belal Muhammad says he would never fight Islam Makhachev, and suggests that Islam should skip over 170 and go to 185 and fight Dricus du Plessis:

"I would never fight [Islam], 100%. But honestly he could go up to 185 and beat [Dricus] du Plessis right now…

Skip over 170 for a… pic.twitter.com/KmoJslwicT

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 3, 2024

Muhammad turns down possible Makhachev fight

“Yeah, I would never fight him [Islam Makhachev], 100%. But honestly, he could go up to 185 and beat [Dricus] du Plessis right now. I think he’s that good, really. I think he could go up there and be that two-division champ, skip over 170 for a little bit. Let me beat a couple of these younger guys, and then I’ll go up to 185, bro. He has plenty of time, man. He’s dominating his fights, he’s winning easily, I think he’s gonna continue on that path of being a dominant champion. He’s got plenty of years left. He tweeted out, or said something about it recently in an interview saying, yeah, I’m still hungry, I’m still here. I think he’s got a long time to go.”

Do you want to see Belal Muhammad and Islam Makhachev square off in the future? Let us know, BJPENN Nation!