‘Bully’ Belal Muhammad says no to scrap with brother Islam Makhachev at welterweight, would rather go up to 185: “Probably the easiest weight class…”

Belal Muhammad is gunning for 185 rather than facing Islam Makhachev after UFC 304 PPV title domination against Leon Edwards.

‘Bully’ Belal Muhammad says no to scrap with brother Islam Makhachev at welterweight, would rather go up to 185: “Probably the easiest weight class…”

Belal Muhammad shoots 185 rather than face close friend Islam Makhachev (Source: IMAGO/X)

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad is vying for that ‘champ champ’ status right after stepping into glory. He put on a five-round domination to becomes the No. 1 contender for gold. Muhammad then went against Leon Edwards and outpaced him in a major upset. While setting his 170-pound maiden defense, “Bully Belal” is dreaming of middleweight stints. But close friend Islam Makhachev stands in his way.

Longtime reigning UFC 155-pound champ Islam Makhachev sits just one below and also has a double-championship stint in mind. That pits him against Muhammad at 170 or 185 pounds; the Dagestani is mapping it out. The Palestinian champ says he won’t fight his friend and would rather go up to 185, which he bills easy money. Consequently, he says Makhachev should fight at welterweight, where he holds a certain reverence for “Rocky.”

I would never fight Islam, …because that’s different for me and him. ..Right. We’ve trained together and, …you know, when you’re sweating with somebody and you’re bleeding with somebody and you train with somebody like that, …So for me, I would rather go up to 185 and let him just take 170..I’ve already had to fight my way up to 170 and I being five top 10 guys, like, I’m two fights away from being able to challenge that 185…I think 185 is probably the easiest weight class, besides Khamzat. Bro, Strickland and Du Plessis suck.

Belal Muhammad on ‘Barstool Chicago’ (@barstoolchicago)
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The lightweight champ has said he would maybe go up to 185 instead, as it suits his bulky natural hydration and power. The current 185-pound king, Dricus Du Plessis, rules the roost firmly and has often squabbled with both. Muhammad wants to take up that charge as he finds that challenge easy.

This comes in light of the odd blitz-striking challenge that “Stillknocks” produces. He yet again outpaced former 185-pound champ Sean Strickland with unanimous scores (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) from all the UFC 312 judges’ scorecards.

Also trotting middleweight is the explosive “Borz” Khamzat Chimaev; his fighting pace, though, is not suitable beyond the first few frames. Holding camp under Team AKA, Muhammad proved last July (UFC 304 PPV) that he can keep the pace going against ‘headshot’ berserkers and perform clinical pressure pockets. Hence, Muhammad finds these challenges quite easy. Speaking of which, the brave and bold Muhammad also spoke a little about his domination of Leon Edwards.

Belal Muhammad says he broke down Leon Edwards during title scrap

After losing his 170-pound title to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304, Edwards (21-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) will look to bounce back. Currently, he faces Jack Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) on March 22nd in the UFC Fight Night 255 event headliner from The O2. Edwards believes a win over the hungry Della Maddalena will put him right back in title contention. But will the combat sports clique be so forgiving about the domination that was “Bully Belal?”

Belal Muhammad could feel Leon Edwards fading in their grudge match
Belal Muhammad could feel Leon Edwards fading in their grudge match (Source: X)

A wrestle-heavy Muhammad outclassed him, spiked him, and even controlled and outboxed him en route to a title win. More to it, the Chicago man says he could feel Edwards fading after a while.

That fight with Leon, like, whether it’s a first round or second round? Like, …this guy, I’ve got him. Like, he’s breaking it before my eyes…Once it got to the second round and he felt me grab him, and he just — I was like, bro, this is way too easy. You’re not on my level of strength. And then once I got to the fourth and fifth round, I was like, all right, now he just gave up.

Belal Muhammad further said

Edwards told Link Up TV that he blames the dead night hours for catering to U.S. pay-per-view time. However, Muhammad has shown vast improvements. Per DraftKings Sportsbooks, Edwards has propped up as a slight +135 underdog against rising contender Della Maddalena for UFC London. However, he hopes with proper timing and a rebound performance, he will get to rematch Muhammad soon.

Related: 3 reasons Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus Du Plessis will be EPIC