Last July, moments after Belal “Remember the Name” Muhammad won the UFC welterweight championship, ESPN commentator Daniel Cormier made a mistake by not remembering his name.
Cormier, at the end of the post-fight interview with Muhammad (24-3, 1 NC), who had just defeated Leon Edwards by unanimous decision to win the belt at UFC 304 in Manchester, England, proclaimed: “Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for the welterweight champion, Leon Edwards!”
It was an honest mistake on Cormier’s part, which he corrected immediately. He had been repeating “welterweight champion Leon Edwards” all week, as during the fight’s preparation, Edwards was the champion. However, it was fitting that this mistake happened to Muhammad, a UFC veteran with nine years of experience, who has been underestimated by both fans and opponents during his rise.
“I don’t need the world to believe in me,” Muhammad said that night, speaking about the doubts he faced from others. “I don’t need anyone to believe in me. I don’t need applause. My team and I know what we are capable of, and now we are world champions.”
Belal Muhammad
Muhammad, who is the first Palestinian-American champion in UFC history, will seek to defend his title for the first time on Saturday against Australian challenger Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) at UFC 315 in Montreal.
Muhammad has shown great respect for St-Pierre, and recently told the UFC that it would be “surreal” for him to fight in GSP’s arena.
“That’s the guy who’s considered the GOAT of your weight class,” Muhammad said of St-Pierre. “Someone you always look up to, someone you watch, someone you try to emulate.”
Belal Muhammad
However, he has also made it clear his desire to be considered the best welterweight of all time.
“GOAT is the goal,” Muhammad said. “I am chasing GSP. I am trying to catch him.”
Belal Muhammad
He is now tied for fifth place with the most victories in UFC welterweight history, with 15, as it took him a long time to get to the belt. His lack of finishes (six in 24 career wins) has affected his overall appeal. That 25% finish rate has drawn a lot of criticism from fans, but in recent interviews, Muhammad has predicted a stoppage on Saturday. As his first title defense approaches, Alofoke Deportes spoke with several of the most important and prominent welterweights of the last two decades to get their opinion on Muhammad’s skills, his ceiling as champion, and his commercial potential.
Georges St-Pierre, former welterweight and middleweight champion, nine title defenses
“Building a legacy doesn’t happen overnight. It usually happens at the end of your career [as a champion], and he’s at the beginning, so he has a lot of time. Anything is possible for him. What has held him back in the mainstream is [that] stardom is about charisma. He’s not the flashiest; he doesn’t get as much attention as someone loud. But he’s a good fighter, and with time, he’ll get the attention he deserves.”
Georges St-Pierre
“He breaks opponents mentally. What people don’t understand is [that] when you beat a guy mentally, when he accepts defeat, he no longer fights to win, he fights not to lose. And it’s very difficult [to finish] someone when he fights not to lose, because he doesn’t open up. Most of the time, to finish an opponent, you have to surprise him. When you reach a certain level, if the guy is mentally defeated before you can surprise him, it’s very difficult to finish him. You need to break the eggs, so to speak, to finish. That’s what happens to Belal, and it also happened to me during my career. [His opponent] knows that [he] is out of the fight and doesn’t want to get hurt, so he won’t try to open up to create an opportunity.”
Georges St-Pierre
Kamaru Usman, former welterweight champion, five title defenses
“Belal was just a guy who was always around. I never really paid attention to Belal, because I was doing what I needed to do. Now that I’m forced to look at Belal, it’s not bad. He’s good everywhere, and that’s been working.”
Kamaru Usman
“Once I was forced to pay attention to him, I started to see the antics that go on outside the cage, and I was never that guy. … Belal is a different type of champion. He’s willing to make memes, he’s willing to get on social media because he wants the attention. He craves it. Even if you’re a lightweight or a flyweight, not in his division, he’s willing to have that exchange with you. I just find it a little off-putting.”
Kamaru Usman
“However, I believe he is capable of a long reign. To have a hold on a division, you have to be good enough everywhere. In the divisions where you see the championship change hands over and over, there are usually champions who lack some kind of skill. When you look at a guy like Matt Hughes, he could wrestle and grapple, but he could also stand with you. And then you saw the new guy, Georges St-Pierre. He could find a way to fight better than you, give you better jabs, kick better, grapple better than you. And then myself. I could dominate on the ground, but I can also give you power. Belal is in a place where he can do everything pretty well. We haven’t seen his striking power, but now that he’s champion, give him time to work on being confident in that aspect, and we might see it.”
Kamaru Usman
Tyron Woodley, former welterweight champion, four title defenses
“I love Belal. Belal is a guy who used to come to the Roufusport gym. When I was the champion, he would drive from Chicago to Milwaukee. I remember him training during Ramadan [a month in the Islamic calendar during which Muslims fast from dawn until sunset], and he wouldn’t take a sip of water. He never had any attitude. He never felt any entitlement. He never had any envy or jealousy.”
Tyron Woodley
“I didn’t see him going that far back then, but when he made some changes and started training with [former lightweight champion] Khabib Nurmagomedov, I saw a change. Someone who believes in himself is dangerous. A lot of guys fight out of fear of their opponent. It’s special when you start to believe. Like when I was champion, Josh Koscheck was a better wrestler than me; Robbie Lawler was a better striker than me; Carlos Condit was a better striker than me. I got to a point where I felt like I could beat them at their own game. And that’s where Belal is now.”
Tyron Woodley
“When it comes to getting respect, at the end of the day, we’re not athletes, we’re artists. And that’s very difficult. In our sport, you have to fight the toughest guys on earth, where there are so many ways to lose, and on top of that, you have to be marketable. You always have to have your social media working. You have to have this persona. It takes a little while to figure that out, and Belal is still in that process. But as he does, he’s going to have to find his proper motivation, because me, I got tired of trying to prove everyone wrong all the time. I burned out on that feeling.”
Tyron Woodley
Dan Hardy, former welterweight champion
“Unfortunately, I think his social media will hold him back. … His campaign for Palestine is going to stifle a lot of his mainstream opportunities because some media outlets just won’t support him, which is a real shame that it’s coinciding with his reign as champion.”
Dan Hardy
“The way he can get over this is to start finishing people. He needs to start making it unpleasant. Like Nurmagomedov, he was talking to you while he was hitting you. There needs to be some of that for the fans to gravitate towards him. Holding the title is when Usman went from not very interesting to watch to, ‘Oh, I’m excited to see what he does next.’ Belal can make that change. The pressure is off him now.”
Dan Hardy
“There are moments in a fighter’s career when all the ingredients come together at the right time, and I think winning the belt has helped him realize his potential. And it’s not necessarily about finding punching power, because everyone has punching power. It’s more about technique. I’d like to see Belal add some short-range weapons that he can sew into his boxing. If I were his coach, I’d be thinking, ‘How do we get people out of there?’ And you can do that in many different ways. You can cut them, stop them with body shots. You don’t need to be a devastating knockout puncher. There will be a niche for Belal to find, to increase the frequency with which he takes guys out.”
Dan Hardy
