When Belal Muhammad watched the post-fight press conference of UFC 286, he expected to be asked about his future, hoping that he would get picked as the top contender in the welterweight division.
It came as a big surprise to everyone when Dana White announced that Colby Covington will fight the current champion, Leon Edwards. Then he revealed that UFC is making plans for Muhammad to face the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov soon.
Muhammad was very shocked because nobody had ever talked to him about fighting Rakhmonov before he heard it at UFC 286.
I was watching and hoping the person would say that they won’t have a fight after a title fight, but he said Colby Covington will be next. I was wondering where this came from while trying to make Shavkat versus Belal?
Muhammad recently asked his manager what was happening, and the manager replied that he didn’t know either. Muhammad also had a meeting with White and the UFC to see what comes next in his future, but nothing has been decided yet.
Muhammad has never given up on a challenge but he doesn’t want to take any chances with his next fight after recently beating Sean Brady, who was also untested. He is working hard towards getting the chance to compete for a title fight.
Muhammad is a fighter that’s never afraid of challenging opponents. He says he’s been looking for tough opponents forever and recently squared off with Sean Brady, who was previously undefeated. Even though Brady was dangerous, Muhammad believes it’s still “fighting downwards” because if Muhammad beats him, people will think he wasn’t as good as originally predicted.
After I won against Sean Brady, some people said things like “He sucks! You’re not going to get a title fight from beating him!” But I was thinking that if Sean had of won, he would have gotten the title match because he would then be 16-0 and everyone would think he’s very good.
Muhammad is still hoping to battle for the title even though there are currently no agreements made between Edwards and Covington. He will keep trying until it becomes impossible, but if he can’t get a shot at gold, he only wants to compete against champions, former champions, or someone the UFC declared as the top contender in his division.
Muhammad said that the only people he’s looking up to right now are Colby, Leon and Kamaru. He mentioned that Kamaru is in good condition so they could have a fight. Muhammad had fights with Demian Maia and ‘Wonderboy’ Stephen Thompson. He also faced against Vicente Luque and Sean Brady – who were both considered to be very skilled fighters. But what Muhammad wanted was someone everyone knows and considers to be one of the best welterweights in history; like a former champion.
“I think to get a title shot, one of the names I would have to fight against could be Usman, Colby or Leon. That’s my only way for me to earn something for sure. If Usman isn’t available, it’ll make sense for me to battle Covington so that whoever wins will be given the chance to fight Edwards next.”
Muhammad knows that UFC champions usually only compete two times a year, so Edwards may not fight again until the end of 2023. He also thinks that Covington shouldn’t wait any longer since he hasn’t competed in over one year.
Muhammad wants Leon not to accept fighting Colby and then fight him instead. Colby is bragging a lot and demanded a fight in Miami, the week after or in June. Muhammad accepted his challenge and said that he’s down to fight anytime.
“Let’s get back in the ring now so that you can show everyone who said you didn’t deserve it that they were wrong. Let’s fight. Leon just fought.”
Edwards has been very clear that he will not let Covington have a title shot because he hasn’t earned it since he has only won two out of his last four battles.
Muhammad is hoping Edwards will cancel the fight between himself and Covington so that he can keep fighting to become a champion. He said “Don’t let me fight Colby. Let the winner of our planned fight move on”.
