Belal ‘Remember The Name’ Muhammad was crowned the new UFC welterweight champion a few months ago. It was a championship fight where Muhammad delivered a dominant performance. However, in the aftermath, he faced a wave of criticism. As such, many prominent figures in the UFC community seemingly mocked Belal Muhammad’s fighting style.
In a recent exclusive interview with Parry Punch, Louis Taylor, the coach of the UFC welterweight champion, explored several intriguing topics. Among the many, one significant discussion was about how Belal Muhammad and his team dealt with criticisms of his fighting style. In response to the interviewer’s question, Taylor replied sternly and straightforwardly to the critiques.
It’s gonna be a hard fight to sell because it’s easier to sell a fight when you got a Colby, even Ian Garry, somebody who can be the nemesis. I mean unfortunately the MMA community has taken upon making Belal one of the most disliked or they want to say boring or something like that but like I said, Belal’s only boring to fighters, to peoples who don’t understand or have a fight IQ.
Louis Taylor via Parry Punch (Check from 25:11)
Muhammad, alongside flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, have faced intense scrutiny throughout their careers. Their fighting styles are often cited as a key reason for this criticism. Muhammad, in particular, is known for his wrestling-dominated approach; he tends to grapple with his opponents and keep them on the ground.
As a result, many in the UFC community, who have a strong preference for striking knockouts, are not satisfied with Muhammad’s performances. Interestingly, there have been many other wrestling-dominated UFC fighters as well.
However, unlike Muhammad, they did not face as much scrutiny. Khabib Nurmagomedov is one prime example of this. Despite the criticism, Coach Louis Taylor believes that Muhammad possesses a high fighting IQ. As such, the Chicago-based fighter even adapts his strategy accordingly in his UFC bouts.
When will Belal Muhammad return to the UFC octagon?
Belal Muhammad has emerged as one of the standout fighters in the UFC welterweight division. Although his initial UFC fights were somewhat shaky, he has since established a strong run. As such, ‘Remember The Name’ is on a 10-fight unbeaten streak, with a no-contest against Leon Edwards in the middle of it.
Belal Muhammad after winning the UFC welterweight title (Image via Instagram/@bullyb170)After his championship win at UFC 304, Muhammad was set to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310. However, due to an injury, the Chicago-based fighter had to withdraw from the scheduled match. Recently, his coach, Louis Taylor, also hinted at Muhammad’s potential comeback fight in the UFC octagon.
That’s on the UFC. We’re up and camp, we’re back walking. It’s been a week and a half, we got our first rounds of sparring in yesterday… But it doesn’t seem like the UFC is pressing him to take something immediately right now. So, we’re just going to heal, we’re just going to train.
Louis Taylor via Parry Punch (Check from 32:43)
According to several reports, the UFC plans to rebook Muhammad’s fight against Rakhmonov soon. However, Taylor has stated that there hasn’t been any confirmation about it yet. Additionally, Muhammad has potential fighting interests from several other competitors. Notably, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is also looking to achieve double champion status in the promotion.
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