Belal Muhammad dethroned the champ at UFC 304 to leave Manchester fans distraught. His dominant showing against welterweight top crop Leon Edwards was levels above what anybody expected. It goes to show why the Palestinian-American fighter has built up such a willful ember demanding his shot at the title. UFC commentator Daniel Cormier can’t help but see a touch of Khabib Nurmagomedov in him.
DC is a close friend of ‘Eagle’ after having had multiple spars with him and other AKA members over the years. When Fight Week rolled up, Muhammad told Shakiel Mahjouri that Khabib Nurmagomedov had dissected Edwards down for him in camp. To that end, Daniel Cormier notices the changes as clear as day.
He really did look like Khabib if I’m being completely honest. The pace, the pressure…the wrestling…and you know what, the striking…Y’know, Belal gets a bit of a bad rap and at times they say he’s boring, and I will tell you right now, that was the furthest thing from a boring fight from the new champion.
Daniel Cormier in his Co-Op Live post-fight panel reaction video/ 🎥 Credit: @DC_MMA
Taking to his socials, Khabib humbly veered to the new champ’s camp and coaches, crediting his success. However, Belal Muhammad outstruck ‘Rocky’ in front of a 23,000-home crowd packed into the new Co-Op Live Arena. Despite scrapping into the night and the following morning, the 36-year-old empathetically executed takedowns and weakened Leon Edwards, as Nurmagomedov once did.
Khabib is legendary even to this date, with how unforgiving he was with his top mount and transition to skill-to-skill hitboxes. The current champ might not be there yet, but Muhammad showed leaps and strides of improvement. Edwards, many fans, and even head honcho Dana White said he wasn’t an interesting option for April’s milestone pay-per-view event. Muhammad proved everyone wrong.
Belal Muhammad, fighters, and MMA pundits react to his win
Is the catchphrase “Spider-Man, …does whatever a spider can” familiar? It should be; the comic book superhero is a fan-favorite for all time. It has also seen an offshoot meme from the 90’s Spider-Man Show, where one web-slinger points to another. MMA notables have used that iconic meme before, as well. But that meme is for the old days. It now says, “Muhammad, man…does whatever Canelo Alvarez can”.
MMA Pros react to Belal Muhammad’s win over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 (Source: X/thespun.com/heavy.com)Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) insisted he won the affair against Leon Edwards. During UFC 304 Fight Week, striking coach Horatio Gutierrez said in UFC 304 ‘Embedded,’ Vlog Series: No. 1 that his boxing skills and speed were at par with Canelo Alvarez. The matter had earned him the wrath of fans. However, Belal Muhammad did significantly outstrike with much speed and acumen.
Muhammad liked a few doctored memes of that Spider-Man theme that show him and Alvarez pointing at each other as the same. He also posted pre-fight snippets of him parrying around with tremendous speed. Other than Daniel Cormier saying he saw signs of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s pointers, others reacted as well.
Muhammad gets a simple double less than 20 seconds into the first round.
— Luke Thomas🏋️♀️ (@lthomasnews) July 28, 2024
Belal is lookin sharp out there 10-9 round for him #ufc304
-Advertisement-— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) July 28, 2024
10-9 Belal. Leon needs to throw more feints to keep Belal from shooting #UFC304
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) July 28, 2024
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Belal is giving Leon some big problems on the feet rn 👀 #ufc304
— Megan Anderson (@MeganAnderson) July 28, 2024
Belal Nurmagomedov 😂😂😂
-Advertisement-— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) July 28, 2024
Fairytale start for Belal Muhammad through 10 minutes. Seems to have Leon Edwards thrown off his game. #UFC304
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) July 28, 2024
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Leon Edwards looks like he doesn’t want to be in there tonight. @bullyb170 making this look like an episode of Bully beat down these first two rounds #ufc304
— Brendan Schaub (@BrendanSchaub) July 28, 2024
29-28, Belal Muhammad. It’s getting interesting. #UFC304
-Advertisement-— Danny Segura (@dannyseguratv) July 28, 2024
Consequently, some peers said it was a pure “bully beatdown.” UFC 304 saw Edwards with some slick grappling at last. However, Belal Muhammad pummeled him dominantly. His 11-fight UFC unbeaten streak at welterweight is the longest active in the division right now. As such, it’s very easy to ‘Remember the Name.’
