Stephen Thompson and Belal Muhammad express respect for one another following UFC Fight Night bout
Stephen Thompson and Belal Muhammad had a showdown at UFC Vegas 45 this past weekend. Although the fighters exchanged fists during the fight, they were still able to exchange pleasantries after it.
'Remember The Name' recently took to Twitter to express his admiration for ‘Wonderboy’. In his post, he mentioned that it was an honor to share the octagon with the veteran 170-pound contender.
"It was an honor to share the cage with you @WonderboyMMA"
It was an honor to share the cage with you @WonderboyMMA 🙏🙏 twitter.com/ufc_obsessed/s…
The two fighters battled it out for 15 minutes, with Muhammad coming away with a unanimous decision victory. 'Remember The Name' entered the fight having won his previous bout against Demian Maia. Thompson, meanwhile, lost his last prior clash against Gilbert Burns.
Stephen Thompson stayed true to his karate form by darting in and out and landing shots on Muhammad. However, it was the Illinois native's pressure and takedowns that proved too much for the 38-year-old.
"He look damned good"- Dana White sings Belal Muhammad's praises following UFC Vegas 45 win
UFC fans were not the only ones impressed with Belal Muhammad’s performance this past weekend. Dana White complemented the rising contender, mentioning that his takedowns stood out during the fight.
Thanks boss glad you enjoyed it twitter.com/mmajunkie/stat…
During the post-fight press conference, the UFC president praised ‘Remember The Name’ after his decisive victory. White was particularly impressed with Muhammad's ability to get ‘Wonderboy’ to the ground despite Thomspon’s known takedown defense.
"Belal looked great tonight. Breaking this fight down, when you look at this; Wonderboy has great takedown defense. He's been in there with tons of wrestlers who have tried to take him down. I thought Belal was going to have a lot of trouble tonight with 'Wonderboy' staying on the outside and picking him apart with big shots. That was not the case, so he looked damned good."
Watch the full press conference below:
With his win against ‘Wonderboy’, Belal Muhammad has won six of his last seven fights and is on a two-fight win streak. He's moved to No.5 in the rankings, a change he later taunted Jorge Masvidal about.