UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad was an animated figure in the corner of Ignacio Bahamondes this weekend.
Bahamondes was among those tasked with setting the stage for Saturday’s championship headliner at UFC 313, and the highly touted lightweight prospect emerged as one of the event’s top performers.
“La Jaula” made the most of his opportunity to break into the rankings, submitting the once fast-rising Jalin Turner with a shock triangle choke in the very first round.
Talking the Chilean 27-year-old through the action cageside was a notable teammate of his in Belal Muhammad. And the UFC posted footage of the champ’s ecstatic reaction as his man forced a tap from “The Tarantula.”
Let’s go! Best in the world, I told you guys,” Muhammad said to the camera. “He can strike and he can grapple, he does it all!
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Turned revealed his intentions to retire in the aftermath of Saturday’s bout, admitting he’d been pondering the decision since his setback to Renato Moicano at UFC 300 last April.
Bahamondes will likely inherit his #13 position in the lightweight rankings, having moved to a three-fight winning streak with his triumph at UFC 313.