Belal Muhammad has been counted out for a lot of his UFC career and that has given him a lot of motivation during his rise to the top of the welterweight division.
Even now that he is the champion, "Remember The Name" wants to keep proving people wrong by beating the guys that everyone says he has no chance against.
Whether it's some of the things he says online or his fighting style that is incredibly effective but not the most glamorous to watch, Muhammad is one of the more underappreciated high-level fighters that we have seen inside the Octagon.
A former opponent of his spoke about this and how overlooking the current champ is something that cost him when they fought several years ago.
Randy Brown Explains Why He Underestimated Belal Muhammad When They Fought And How It Affected Him
In an interview with Inside Fighting, Randy Brown said that he was happy to see Muhammad become the champion at UFC 304 in Manchester.
On the subject of Muhammad being an often overlooked fighter before his clash with Leon Edwards, "RudeBoy" said that this is a hole that he also fell into when facing off with him back at UFC 208.
I feel like a lot of people underestimate him and it's easy to underestimate him going into a fight and I saw that with Leon. I did it myself when we fought, you know what I mean, and I was just like, 'I'm gonna run through this dude.' But then you realize how sticky he is when you're in there. Belal is actually pretty damn good and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves, unfairly.
Brown said that he underestimated Muhammad because of what he had seen with his own eyes in a training room, rather than any reputation that may have had.
As we saw at UFC 304, the champion's striking has come a long way during his time on the UFC roster but back at the start of his journey, this is what gave Brown a false sense of security.
We were both fighting someone from the same camp and I remember we were warming up in the room and I'm watching him shadow box and hit mitts and s*** and he looked f****** horrible. He looked terrible and I looked over to my coach and I said like, 'How is this dude even here? Like what is he, this dude looks like s***." So in my mind, I'm like, 'Yo if I ever get a fight with this dude, I'll take it in a heart beat. He's 170, I'd whoop his f****** a**.'
Having been given that impression of Muhammad, Brown was happy to accept a late-notice fight with him further down the line at UFC 208 back in 2017.
After coming into the fight with the expectation that he would be far too good for his opponent, "Remember The Name" would secure his second UFC win via unanimous decision.
Completely underestimated him. I already did a camp, I kind of just bull******* whatever and went in to fight him and I brought that energy into the fight.