Belal Muhammad ran through the UFC welterweight division to finally face Leon Edwards at UFC 304. Before becoming the champ, he already boasted nine consecutive impressive wins over Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady, Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson, and many top contenders.
Edwards dominated the striking exchanges in his first fight with Muhammad, but it was ruled No Contest because of an eye poke in the second. Many assumed that "Remember the Name" was no match for "Rocky" and the challenger even had to wait over a year to get the title shot.
Now that the dust has settled around Muhammad being the UFC welterweight kingpin, he's revealed how life has changed in the past few weeks...
Belal Muhammad Reveals How Life Has Changed Since Becoming UFC Welterweight Champion
Muhammad was recently asked about his experience as a UFC champion on the Believe You Me podcast, hosted by Michael Bisping. He outright mentioned that people have been trying to associate with him a lot more, and there's been a huge influx of supporters as well.
Because he's now stacked with media-related commitments as a champ, Muhammad misses his regular training days. He also had to change his phone number for the first time since high school, as he's repeatedly getting calls.
Amidst the obvious downsides of stardom, Muhammad shared that his parents have reaped the benefits of him winning the UFC championship as well. His father has been showing the belt to his peers while his mother is being asked for pictures at grocery stores.
I'm getting random calls. So, I had to change the number that I had since high school. But, more you know, for the most part, it's just seeing my dad be able to celebrate it, right? He's showing his friends the belt, my mom's, people are asking my mom for pictures at, you know, the grocery store. So, seeing them get that superstar treatment, is a sweet part for me.
Making his parents proud by becoming a UFC champion is a delight for Muhammad. He looked back at the 2020 riots in Chicago during which his father's cell phone store was looted and destroyed. With his hard work, he's been able to help his family recover from the financial and emotional losses.