"I'm kind of like GSP" - Belal Muhammad on besting 'Wonderboy' on the ground despite not having elite wrestling pedigree
Belal Muhammad recently delivered a dominant performance over Stephen Thompson in the co-main event at UFC Vegas 45. Muhammad stifled Thompson on the ground for three rounds to earn a unanimous decision win.
'Remember the Name' has now opened up about his dominant groundwork against the former title challenger. According to Muhammad, people underestimate how well-rounded he is as a martial artist.
While comparing himself to Georges St-Pierre, Muhammad also believes he has a better understanding of the game than everybody else. He recently told John Morgan of MMA Fighting:
"I feel a lot of people underestimate how good I am everywhere. I have really good wrestling. I don't have the accolades of being a Division 1 wrestler or going to this school or being born into a wrestling family or anything like that. But I train with really good wrestlers... And I understand how to use things better than everybody else. I understand how to put everything together."
He then talked about his similarities to Georges St-Pierre:
"I'm kind of like a GSP where you don't need to have the most wrestling years in your life, but we both understood when to shoot on somebody, when to cut an angle on somebody, when to take somebody down."
Watch Belal Muhammad's interview with MMA Fighting below:
Stephen Thompson has apologized for his loss to Belal Muhammad
Stephen Thompson issued an apology statement to his supporters on Instagram following his loss to Belal Muhammad at the UFC Vegas 45 co-headliner. Thompson also claimed to be "motivated" rather than "broken" by his loss:
“I want to apologize to my coaches, my family, and my fans for my performance. I’m motivated not broken.”
Stephen Thompson is now on a two-fight skid and has dropped four of his last six bouts. Prior to his loss against Muhammad, Thompson was on the short end of a unanimous decision against Gilbert Burns at UFC 264 in July. Meanwhile, Belal Muhammad is riding a six-fight win streak marred only by a no-contest against Leon Edwards in March.