“He’s a strategist”, Belal Muhammad provides scouting report on undefeated welterweight rival Shavkat Rakhmonov

Belal Muhammad was the backup fighter for the main event of UFC 296. Dana White promised a title shot for Muhammad at UFC 288 when he defeated Gilbert Burns. However, White did not confirm Muhammad’s title shot in the post-fight press conference of UFC 296. Moreover, many believe that Shavkat Rakhmonov will leapfrog Muhammad for a title shot.

Luke Thomas of Morning Kombat recently interviewed Belal Muhammad. During the interview, Thomas asked Muhammad to provide a scouting report on the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov. This is what Muhammad said about it.

Definitely a finisher, right? He's a great fighter with excellent striking. I don't think his defense is all that great, but his striking and footwork are impressive. He showed in his last fight that he's also a strategist. He recognized that the easiest path to victory was to wrestle Wonderboy,... I think he demonstrated a lot of fight IQ with that performance ..... got the finish against a tough opponent like Wonderboy. It shows that he can win in different ways.

Belal Muhammad via Morning Kombat

Muhammad has very nice things to say about Rakhmonov. The only deficiency he found in Rakhmonov was the striking defense. Moreover, he refused to say more about his weaknesses as he was a potential opponent for Muhammad. Furthermore, Muhammad believes Rakhmonov was next in line after him for the title shot.

Muhammad and Rakhmonov occupy the second and third ranks in the welterweight division, respectively. Moreover, no other fighters in the top 5 rankings are on win streaks. Therefore, one of the two surely has the best chance to get a shot at the title next.

Belal Muhammad reveals his favorite MMA fight to watch

Belal Muhammad had an interesting interview with Luke Thomas of The Morning Kombat. Muhammad discussed various aspects of his personal and professional life in the interview.

One of the interesting things that he said in the interview was about his favorite fight. This is what he said:

My favorite fight to watch is a bit weird, but it's Lorenz Larkin vs. Jorge Masvidal. It's one of my favorite fights because there was a lot of great striking in that bout, and it was a good back-and-forth contest. Masvidal is one of the early OGs that I enjoy watching.

Muhammad’s favorite fighters to watch are Cory Sandhagen, Brendan Allen, and Arman Tsarukyan. Muhammad is currently on a ten-fight unbeaten streak. Only the champion, Leon Edwards, has a longer win streak.

In case you missed it!

• “This is surprising and disappointing” – Joe Rogan’s peer calls out Leon Edwards’ team for sidelining ‘rightful contender’ Belal Muhammad
• “What makes him more privileged?” Leon Edwards denies Belal Muhammad a title shot despite nine-fight winning streak

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