Belal Muhammad discusses potentially fighting on "McGregor's card" in December: "I'll be their Alex Pereira to step up"
Belal Muhammad wants to be an active champion and has already started discussing potential timelines for his next fight. The UFC welterweight champion wants to mirror the stature of Alex Pereira, who has developed a reputation for being a reliable champion to save fight cards.
There were rumors of a potential Conor McGregor return in one of the organization's closing pay-per-view showcases of the year. However, UFC CEO Dana White dispelled the rumors by confirming that McGregor will not return to action this year.
Speaking to MMA Junkie about potentially defending his welterweight throne on the December fight card, Muhammad said:
"Hopefully if I can get into the last card of the year in December, that'll be great for me. I think that makes a lot of sense. You just never know if they don't want to put nobody on McGregor's card, but I doubt McGregor is even fighting."
Muhammad added:
"So if they need somebody for that, I'll be their Alex Pereira and step up. I'm training in the gym. My boy [Ignacio Bahamondes] is fighting at Sphere in September, so I'll be in camp helping him. I'm still motivated. I'm ready to go. I'm not going to be a Leon Edwards where I take a year off. I want to make this division great again"
Catch Muhammad's comments below:
Muhammad ensured that he secured a title shot with a patient approach, registering nine straight victories before fighting for the championship against Leon Edwards at UFC 304. He made the most of the opportunity, displaying a well-rounded strategy built around his wrestling prowess. He won the fight by unanimous decision and handed Edwards his first loss since December 2015.
Belal Muhammad fires back at Kamaru Usman's "not-so-good version of myself" comments
Belal Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 304 to become the first fighter of Palestinian background to win a UFC title.
Several names have been thrown in the mix for Muhammad's first title defense, including undefeated sensation Shavkat Rakhmonov, surging prospect Jack Della Maddalena, and former welterweight king Kamaru Usman.
Usman launched a biting jab at Muhammad on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo, claiming that, "everything he (Muhammad) does, I do better."
The freshly crowned 170-pound champion fired back at Usman's comments on a recent episode of Remember The Show and said:
"He lost to Leon twice, and I just dominated Leon. I did it better than him. He can say, ‘Oh, I had this win in 2015,’ but bro, that was 2015. Like, why are you sitting there grasping at straws back then when nobody even knew who Leon was? Nobody knew who you were. This new version of Leon, that’s the version I beat. The one that beat you, that’s the one I just dominated.”
Catch Muhammad's comments below (12:45):