"Bad mistake," "Belal knows" - Fans divided over Belal Muhammad's bold prediction for Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo fight
Belal Muhammad has put forth a definitive prediction for the upcoming Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo showdown. Muhammad's opinion appears to have elicited mixed reactions from the MMA community.
Reigning UFC welterweight champion Muhammad has lately been working on his recovery after a bone infection in his left foot ruled him out of a scheduled title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 (Dec. 7, 2024). Rakhmonov will instead fight fellow unbeaten welterweight Ian Machado Garry in a non-title bout at the December pay-per-view.
On the other hand, former UFC bantamweight champion Yan is booked to clash against former UFC flyweight champion Figueiredo. Their pivotal bantamweight showdown headlines the UFC Macau fight card at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, China, on Nov. 23, 2024.
Giving his take on the fight, Belal Muhammad seemingly picked Yan to dominantly defeat 'Deus da Guerra.'
"I think Petr Yan is gonna make it look easy"
Fight fans soon weighed in on Belal Muhammad's assertion. Multiple X users concurred with him, with one tweeting:
"Belal knows"
Another commenter wrote:
"Yan by mauling"
Alternatively, one observer alluded to how evenly matched both 'No Mercy' and Figueiredo are, suggesting that their fight could go either way:
"I'm picking Yan to win but don't underestimate Figgy. He could win this one."
On the other hand, some netizens downright disapproved of Muhammad's opinion. A fan even insinuated that 'Remember the Name' was perhaps under the influence while tweeting the prediction:
"Brother what are you smokin"
Another X user disagreed with the welterweight kingpin's apparently one-sided prediction of Yan vs. Figueiredo and wrote:
"Underestimating Deiveson ? Bad mistake..."
Check out the screenshots of a few reactions below:
Belal Muhammad provides update on health after UFC 310 withdrawal
On his Remember The Show podcast's latest episode, Belal Muhammad and co-host Jason Anik (brother of UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik) recently addressed his health status. Muhammad indicated that his recovery has been going well and he could eventually resume training ahead of his comeback, which is expected to materialize next year:
"We've got 10 days left of the antibiotics. So on December 1st, the pick line comes out. And then, yeah, we're all systems go."
Presently, the consensus is that the victor of the Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garryt, which will co-headline UFC 310 next month, could earn the number-one contender status. As such, Muhammad is likely to be scheduled to defend his welterweight belt against the Rakhmonov-Garry winner when he returns from his injury hiatus.
Check out Belal Muhammad's comments below:
Watch the podcast episode below: