Belal Muhammad, a name in the fight world, wasn’t too thrilled about the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) main event that went down on Saturday. He was the backup fighter for the UFC 296 headliner. The big match was between welterweight champ Leon Edwards and challenger Colby Covington.
Muhammad didn’t hold back his thoughts about the fight. Edwards claimed victory via unanimous decision. The pre-fight hype promised an explosive showdown, especially after Covington’s trash talk about Edwards’ late father. The champ was livid, understandably.
But the fight itself? It was a snoozefest. Covington didn’t bring his A-game, failing to use his renowned pressure and wrestling skills for most of the five rounds. Muhammad shared his thoughts on the UFC 296 post-fight show, “Remember the Name”.
He didn’t mince words. “Honestly, it was a joke to the division,” he said. He criticized Covington, who hadn’t fought for two years and didn’t deserve the shot, according to him. The challenger didn’t live up to his trash talk, and Muhammad felt Edwards should have done more too. “For what Colby said, he deserved to have his jaw broken,” he said.
Muhammad’s record is impressive. He’s unbeaten in 10 outings, with his last four wins against ranked contenders. He was widely considered the rightful contender for Edwards’ second title defense. But the UFC decided to give Covington the shot, despite him not having fought since March 2022.
Muhammad is still gunning for his well-deserved title shot. UFC CEO Dana White has stated that he will get it. The 35-year-old fighter is ready to make the welterweight division great again. “I need to get in there. I need to make the welterweight division great again because I’m going to come to fight every single fight,” he said.
He promises a relentless fight against Edwards. “There’s not going to be no breathing at all for Leon Edwards,” he declared. He plans to dominate the fight, to the point where Edwards’ coach will be telling him, ‘Don’t let him bully you, son!’ He’s confident that he’ll have Edwards cornered. “That’s what I’m going to do to him. I’m going to bully him,” he concluded.