“I want all the smoke,” Belal Muhammad welcomes rivalry against 185-pounder Khamzat Chimaev

Belal Muhammad doubles down on desire to fight Khamzat Chimaev at 185 pounds after winning first defense of UFC 315 PPV headliner.

“I want all the smoke,” Belal Muhammad welcomes rivalry against 185-pounder Khamzat Chimaev

Belal Muhammad doubles down on crass talk and fight aspirations vs. Khamzat Chimaev (Source: X/IMAGO)

UFC 315 PPV headliner and current champ, Belal Muhammad, in his own words, wants all the heat. Currently, that would be the explosive Khamzat Chimaev. ‘Bully Belal’ elicited a challenge to the fighter for a possible future middleweight showdown. One, that Muhammad has no plans to back down from.

In a recent virtual media sit-down with ‘Submission Radio’, Belal Muhammad reiterated angling for a Borz prize fight when he was in the welterweight lanes. Muhammad even claimed the 185-pounder and long-time top seed could walk through current champ Dricus Du Plessis. Khamzat Chimaev shot back some barbs on X, labelling him a “pony” in the 185-pound lanes; this has initiated some banter and heat between the two. ‘Remember The Name’ is not willing to back down from what he started:

I want all the smoke. I want to fight the best guys in the world. When he was at 170, I was asking for him — I wanted to fight him, and it wasn’t personal. It was like, I want to challenge myself. I want to show you guys that I’m the best guy.

Belal Muhammad on @TheBrianCampbellExperience

Khamzat Chimaev has had his promise for gold thrice now. He is currently tabbed as the 185-pound top seed after his first-round submission (face crank) win at UFC 308. While not officially set yet, Du Plessis and his team have said a Chimaev PPV title offering is next, but not within the June timeframe. A July 26 UFC Fight Night scrap at Etihad Arena is seemingly the next hot spot. Given his wave of popularity and explosiveness, Muhammad wanted this challenge after UFC 315.

The champ himself has other pockets of concern for now. Close friend Islam Makhachev has his sights on a second gold and wants to try his luck at 170 pounds. Muhammad, unwilling to fight his friend, wants to take a trip north to middleweight. Given he already had a call-up going, Khamzat Chimaev seems like the biggest name he could gun for. However, for now, though, he has other challenges ahead that he feels confident about.

Champ Belal Muhammad plans to run through and ‘drown’ UFC 315 PPV challenger during title showdown

Belal Muhammad is unbeaten in his past eleven scrappers. Those victories have included previous champ Leon Edwards, Gilbert Burns, and Vicente Luque in five-round affairs. Now, he locks horns with Jack Della Maddalena, who is relatively new to the five-round discourse. The duo meets next in the UFC 315 PPV event headliner, May 10 in Montreal, QC, Canada.

Belal Muhammad thinks experience will serve him in UFC 315 PPV title fight
Belal Muhammad thinks experience will serve him in UFC 315 PPV title fight (Source: X)

MMA voices are torn between the two. In a recent media interview with Adam Zubayraev, coach Khabib Nurmagomedov lauded Muhammad’s cardio. Nurmagomedov cornered him against his TKO win vs. Sean Brady and also coached him for UFC 304. He thinks if Della Maddalena, divisional boogeyman Shavkat Rakhmonov, or any other in the talent pool do not finish him early, the champ has enough fuel to keep it going.

Prime rival and former Pound-for-pound topper Kamaru Usman has advised not to count JDM out of it due to his crisp boxing. Burns recently said that Belal Muhammad vs. Della Maddalena might be a tad bit closer on a skills level than people think. However, the champ himself thinks he can exploit this five-round affair in his favor.

[JDM] could only strike…That’s his only path to victory. Me…I think I’m going to go in there and outstrike him and then for him…he’s not going to have a plan B and then that frustration is going to hurt him. That’s where inexperience is going to kick in…He didn’t have to go through five round fights. And then, it’s going to go to that point where he starts drowning and feeling like there’s nothing else he could do.

Belal Muhammad further said

Muhammad told his “The Coach And The Casual” podcast hosts that he does not underestimate what challenges the UFC 315 title challenger presents. However, after UFC 304 PPV in Manchester last July, the champ is confident enough to douse even a standup-only game. Only time will tell if such raucous promises can live up to the name in a title showdown.

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