Accusations of Islam Makhachev Praying for Belal Muhammad’s Downfall Dismissed by Teammate Daniel Cormier

UFC Hall of Famer defends Islam Makhachev following his announcement after Belal Muhammad's loss at UFC 315.

Accusations of Islam Makhachev Praying for Belal Muhammad’s Downfall Dismissed by Teammate Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier believes Islam Makhachev has no intentions to celebrate Belal Muhammad's loss (via Imago/X)

Brotherhood in the fighting business is hard to maintain, and that’s exactly what Islam Makhachev is facing against Belal Muhammad now. Muhammad recently lost his welterweight championship against Jack Della Maddalena last weekend in a tough and brutal five-round battle. Following the loss, it was Makhachev who immediately announced a move up to the welterweight division.

Makhachev had mentioned the UFC 315 result would decide his future, and now nobody stops him with JDM as champion. As expected, it landed the Dagestani in hot water, accused of secretly hoping for his brother Muhammad’s crushing welterweight loss. Following these harsh claims, Daniel Cormier, Makhachev’s former teammate, spoke out strongly in defense of the lightweight champion’s intentions.

I don’t think Makhachev was praying for Belal to lose. I know the guy and I don’t think that’s in him to want to see one of his friends lose for himself to gain an opportunity. 

Daniel Cormier via his YouTube channel

This narrative was initially started by top welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley, who questioned the brotherhood between Makhachev and Muhammad. Both fighters have trained with each other and Muhammad always refused to fight Makhachev but the deal wasn’t mutual. However, according to DC, Buckley is playing a different mind game while exploiting the situation for his benefit. 

But what Buckley is doing from the trolling, now trying to target Islam Makhachev. It’s one of the only ways he’s truly gonna find his way into those big fights that he wants so desperately. If he can get Makhachev or Della Maddalena to acknowledge him, then it puts him at the forefront. 

Daniel Cormier continued

Nevertheless, if Muhammad had won the fight, Makhachev would’ve been forced to face Ilia Topuria in a fight he avoided. But it seems like Muhammad’s loss has perfectly aligned with the Dagestani’s ambitions, opening the welterweight door at the right time. Della Maddalena has also accepted the challenge and already contacted Dana White to hold the fight in Australia.

UFC veteran questions Belal Muhammad’s game plan at UFC 315 

Going into the fight, Belal Muhammad was extremely confident and aimed to knock out Jack Della Maddalena with ‘Canelo hands’. Despite being a dominant wrestler, he boldly promised not to shoot for even a single takedown throughout the entire fight. However, he did take the fight to the ground, though far less than his usual wrestling-heavy and grinding fighting style.

Jack Della Maddalena beats Belal Muhammad at UFC 315
Jack Della Maddalena beats Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 (via X)

As a result, the fight mostly stayed on the feet, giving Della Maddalena the perfect opportunity to cleanly outstrike Muhammad. His head movement and dynamic striking proved overwhelming, becoming too much for the former welterweight champion to handle effectively.  Following the bout, former UFC champion Henry Cejudo shared his opinion and strongly slammed Muhammad for his disappointing performance.

It’s gonna be a little bit of humble pie for Belal Muhammad. He was talking about ‘My hands like Canelo and I’m not gonna shoot a takedown.’ That’s ego bro, that shit turned around and bit him in the a**. I do like Belal Muhammad, but it’s not good when people start giving their game plan. There were no takedown attempts in the first half of the fight. I wonder what Belal was thinking.

Henry Cejudo via Pound 4 Pound Podcast 

With his recent performance, Della Maddalena has made thousands of new fans who are excited to see him against Islam Makhachev. As the Aussie looks forward to taking revenge of his fellow countryman Alexander Volkanovski, Makhachev will definitely be the fan favorite. The Dagestani does everything better than Muhammad and has a far better fight IQ to avoid mistakes.