UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad believes his division is significantly more challenging than the middleweight division, which Dricus Du Plessis currently rules.
Those are strong words from Muhammad, who has yet to defend his title. He was initially set to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in December but was forced to withdraw due to injury. Rakhmonov defeated Ian Garry and is expected to challenge for the welterweight title later this year.
In a recent interview with Barstool Chicago, Muhammad was asked about possibly fighting his occasional training partner, UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev. "Remember the Name" reiterated that he has no interest in fighting Makhachev, a stance he has previously made clear.
Instead, he has a broader goal — potentially moving up in weight and fighting for another championship. That means targeting the middleweight division.
For me, I’d rather go to 185 and let [Makhachev] just take 170,” Muhammad said. “Since I’ve already had to fight my way up to 170 — I’ve beaten five top-10 guys — I’m two fights away from being able to challenge for [the middleweight title] and saying, ‘Hey, I want to be double champ.’
I think 185 is probably the easiest weight class — besides Khamzat [Chimaev]. When you look at that [UFC 312] main event, you’re like, ‘Bro, Strickland and Du Plessis suck.’
