Israel Adesanya isn't on board Belal Muhammad hype train yet - "Empty barrels make a hell of a noise"
Belal Muhammad is yet to prove himself in the eyes of the UFC middleweight champion, after Israel Adesanya gave his UFC 288 breakdown on his YouTube channel.
Muhammad will face Gilbert Burns in this weekend's co-main event, which could see the welterweight division turned on its head. Their bout is being considered a No.1 contender's clash, with both Burns and 'Remember the Name' desperate for a shot at Leon Edwards' belt.
Muhammad is heading into UFC 288 in the form of his career. The 34-year-old hasn't tasted defeat since January 2019 and has since gone on a seriously impressive nine-fight undefeated run. Amongst that streak includes a no-contest against Edwards due to an accidental eye-poke, and Belal Muhammad is determined to try and right that wrong.
Israel Adesanya, however, isn't yet convinced by Muhammad. The Nigerian-New Zealander stated that whilst the American's wrestling and grappling ability is great, he still ranks Gilbert Burns a notch above him as a fighter.
The 185-pound champ said:
"Belal's always making noise, he's always speaking. What do they say? Empty barrels make a hell of a noise. He's always trying to get his shine... He's got good wrestling and grappling, but I think Gilbert is a notch or two above him. He's hung with the best in the world."
Catch Adesanya's comments here (12:50):
Sean O'Malley weighs in on Belal Muhammad's weigh cut
Belal Muhammad accepted the bout against Gilbert Burns on just a few weeks' notice. The pair were drafted in to fill the co-main event spot after Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush's fight was pulled off the card.
Whilst 'Durinho' is heading into the bout not far off his fight camp from facing Jorge Masvidal, 'Remember the Name' was out of camp and not in fighting shape.
According to Sean O'Malley, Muhammad having to cut significantly more weight than Burns could affect his performance at UFC 288 this weekend, especially on short notice.
O'Malley said during a recent episode of The BrOMalley Show:
"This fight's at 170[lbs]. So, let's just say [Belal Muhammad's] 200[lbs], so that's 30lbs... I mean, I wonder what Gilbert [Burns] is. If Gilbert's not dealing with that necessarily, I think that affects your performance 100 percent and then one is two extra rounds."
He added:
"The sh*t that that dude's had to do and win to even get to this point is absolutely insane, so if he is cutting that much weight, strategically, business-wise, I'm like that might not be the smartest thing but who knows, he goes out there and beats him, the dude's a genius, so it's tough to say."
Catch O'Malley's comments here (0:45):