Belal Muhammad snagged the UFC welterweight undisputed gold from Leon Edwards. The oddsmakers, his long-running peers, and ‘Rocky’ himself did not see this coming. The Palestinian American’s performance and striking upset at UFC 304 has caught Kamaru Usman’s attention. The former champion has his eye out for the gold; Muhammad, though, wants to scrape off his marks from the belt.
Belal Muhammad and Islam Makhachev were guest fighters for the media round in a moderated UFC Q&A in Abu Dhabi. UFC on ABC 7 guest fighter Q&A marks his third UFC official presser appearance since winning the belt. During the photo shoot, longtime lightweight king Makhachev corrected him on how to hold his newly acquired belt. Usman quipped at the same, but Muhammad hit back soon enough.
He also taught me how to clean your fingerprints off it !!
Belal Muhammad via X (@bullyb170)
Kamaru Usman has not fought since his short-notice UFC 294 bout against Khamzat Chimaev. The former champion is on a self-imposed sabbatical. He is co-hosting Pound for Pound Podcast these days while gearing up for his return. As such, the former P4P king has already called dibs on Muhammad’s belt now that Dana White doesn’t want to book Muhammad vs. Edwards 3.
Belal Muhammad claps back at Kamaru Usman 😳🍿
“Your performance in the 3rd fight with [Leon] was slow and kinda weak.
[Islam] also taught me how to clean your fingerprints off [the belt].”#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/MOXEH3CpIi
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 2, 2024
To that end, he had thrown shade on Muhammad’s UFC 304 title performance. The 36-year-old Palestinian outboxed and outwrestled Leon Edwards, leaving many in awe. Kamaru Usman billed it as weak sauce; Muhammad snapped back, calling out Usman’s UFC 286 performance. Muhammad has already proven how out-of-pocket petty he can get on his way to success. As such, this rivalry could be one for ages.
Belal Muhammad’s boxing coach responds to backlash on viral pre-fight claims
Belal Muhammad, a lifelong slow-running clincher and reactionary striker, is now the new welterweight champ. ‘Remember the Name’ turned heads and gave reason to do so after his performance against Leon Edwards. He outboxed him, spiked him on his head, lasted through his takedowns, and gave an all-around performance, going the distance.
Belal Muhammad showed tremendous skill-to-skill display at UFC 304 (Source: boxemag.com/YouTube › @Ufc)More surprising than the win is how he got it done. Before UFC 304, Muhammad and his striking coach, Horacio Gutierrez, came under a lot of fire as usual. During UFC 304 ‘Embedded,’ Vlog Series: No. 1, Gutierrez has said they are going the Canelo Alvarez route. He compared Muhammad’s improving standup skills and speed to the iconic face of boxing.
Naturally, Edwards and others shunned it as a smoke screen. With him outboxing Edwards with a Mexican style similar to Alvarez, coach Gutierrez pitches in his side of the story to Danny Segura for MMA Junkie in Spanish.
The moment that clip came out on UFC’s Embedded, we went viral for that comment. Like you said, nobody believed us that Belal could beat Leon Edwards with his hands. Leon Edwards is one of the best, if not the best striker…I didn’t say that just to talk, and we showed that in the cage…His hands literally were key in getting us this victory.
Horacio Gutierrez on HablamosMMA (@HablemosMMA), for MMA Junkie in Spanish
‘Rocky’ was expecting the usual chain of takedowns but never expected trouble on the feet of the Palestinian-American. The matter was so unexpected that even pound-for-pound hard hitters like Kamaru Usman have turned their attention. Gutierrez, a former UFC fighter, and his Chicago team could not be more happier that it all paid out for Belal Muhammad.
