Belal Muhammad dethroned Leon Edwards to become the new UFC welterweight champion at UFC 304. As the first UFC champion from Palestine, he's naturally become a lot more popular lately and fans are finally getting behind him as he trolls other UFC fighters.
Muhammad has won eleven fights in a row now. Unlike Merab Dvalishvili who was presented with Umar Nurmagomedov as soon as he won the UFC bantamweight title, the welterweight kingpin has yet to confirm his first title defense.
Unless he fights Kamaru Usman in a title eliminator first, undefeated prospect Shavkat Rakhmonov is expected to challenge Muhammad. While discussing the matchup, Sean Strickland's coach Eric Nicksick revealed how Rakhmonov doesn't seem invincible anymore...
Sean Strickland's Coach Appreciates Geoff Neal, Who Beat Belal Muhammad, For Fighting Shavkat Rakhmonov The Perfect Way
Muhammad recently opened up about the current state of the UFC welterweight division on the Verse Us with Eric Nicksick podcast. Unsurprisingly, he acknowledged the undefeated Rakhmonov with a 100% finish rate as his first potential title defense.
Nicksick, who coaches Sean Strickland, gave "Nomad" his props but highlighted that Geoff Neal has already revealed the best way to beat him. Although 'Handz of Steel' lost via third-round submission, he landed several good shots on Rakhmonov.
The key for Neal was maintaining distance and movement. He avoided getting into a clinch with Rakhmonov as the latter quickly threw knees and elbows in that position. Whenever "Nomad" landed a good shot, Neal made sure to move out of range instead of letting his opponent do more damage in the pocket or secure a takedown.
Here are Nicksicks's two cents on how Muhammad should approach the Rakhmonov matchup:
Shavkat's the kind of boogeyman waiting in the closet. You're like, oh s**t, what do I do? But the blueprint's there, right? Geoff Neal fought him very well. I think you know what I mean. I think, I think the blueprint's out.
The coach also explained how Muhammad's tendency to make his opponents uncomfortable by targeting the holes in their games has worked wonders:
That's the whole point we talked about in the Leon Edwards fight and the matchup is, you have more tools in the toolbox, right? And when you sit down and you break, lay out a game plan. It's, I don't, you're not trying to beat the guy at what he's best at, so how do I exploit what he's not good at?
Of course, Neal was successful against Rakhmonov also because he's as tough as it gets. However, as per Nicksick, someone like Muhammad who relies a lot on decoding his opponents by watching footage can benefit greatly by analyzing Neal's performance.
Interestingly, Neal is the last fighter to beat Muhammad. "Handz of Steel' defeated the current champ via TKO in 2019 and now, he could indirectly help "Remember the Name" with his first title defense.