Belal Muhammad has made it clear that he will be rooting against Colby Covington in the UFC Tampa main event, where "Chaos" is set to face Joaquin Buckley at the Amalie Arena.
Muhammad and Covington share a long-standing history of animosity, having exchanged verbal jabs for years. Despite the bad blood, the two have never faced off in the Octagon. Now, the reigning welterweight champ hopes Buckley delivers a decisive victory over the ex-interim titleholder.
I’m hoping that Buckley breaks his jaw,” Muhammad said. “I hope that Buckley puts him out cold, and I think that Buckley can put him out cold. Colby’s striking is terrible, and his wrestling looked awful in his last fight. I think Buckley is athletic enough to defend those takedowns.
Shifting gears, Muhammad provided a detailed analysis of how Buckley could secure a win while highlighting areas where caution will be necessary against the three-time title challenger's skillset.
If Buckley doesn’t get crazy — he throws a lot of wide hooks that leave openings for shots underneath — he just can’t let Colby push him to the fence,” Muhammad explained. “He can’t let Colby keep him on the fence and wear him down. In his last fight against ‘Wonderboy,’ he was getting a little bit tired, but I think that was more because he was offensive wrestling ‘Wonderboy.’ He was taking ‘Wonderboy’ down, ‘Wonderboy’ would get up, he was trying to hold him down, and you don’t really need to hold Colby down.
Muhammad emphasized that the primary strategy for "Chaos" would be to rely on takedowns, as he believes the polarizing veteran lacks striking power.
Colby can’t strike, and nothing he throws is dangerous,” Muhammad said. “We’ve seen Colby have his jaw broken before by Kamaru (Usman), who isn’t great at striking. So, I think Buckley, who has way more power and way better boxing, can put Colby to sleep.