Belal Muhammad gets honest about "underdog mentality" ahead of Jack Della Maddalena fight: "In my head, I'm going up against Canelo Alvarez"
Belal Muhammad recently shared his honest feelings ahead of his welterweight title defense against Jack Della Maddalena. He noted that he has adopted an underdog mentality despite being the reigning champion and how that has assisted his preparation.
Muhammad vs. Della Maddalena is scheduled to headline UFC 315, which takes place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on May 10. The bout marks Muhammad's first welterweight title defense after dethroning Leon Edwards last July.
While speaking to MMA Junkie, Muhammad shared his thoughts on being labeled as the betting favorite by oddsmakers. The reigning welterweight champion mentioned that he is viewing Della Maddalena as the greatest striker in order to motivate himself to train harder for their fight:
"In my head, I'm going up against Canelo Alvarez, so I got to train like I'm going against those guys so I don't look past [Della Maddalena] and I don't take my foot off the gas. I'm still having that underdog mentality. For me, it's not defending the belt, it's still fighting for the belt again, it's still remembering that it took me this long to get my title shot, it took me this long to get noticed by anybody. I'm not going to let it go. He's not going to take it from me."
Check out Belal Muhammad's comments below (8:41):
Belal Muhammad says he thrives off of being counted out
During the aforementioned conversation, Belal Muhammad mentioned that he has remained level-headed and grounded when others count him out and noted that it motivates him to prove them wrong:
"I want the doubters. I want the people to tell me I'm going to lose because it just makes me work that much harder. But that's why I have the circle around me, the teammates around me that keep me level-headed. There is no easy fight in this game, there is no easy win as people will say it or the fans will say it." [8:19]
Check out the official UFC 315 poster featuring Belal Muhammad below: