Khabib Nurmagomedov's coach, Javier Mendez, recently expressed that Belal Muhammad has earned the right to dictate his own terms now that he has claimed the UFC welterweight championship.
"Remember the Name" made waves by toppling 170-pound champion Leon Edwards with a commanding unanimous decision victory at UFC 304 this past July in Manchester. The highly anticipated rematch followed their initial clash in March 2021, which ended in controversy when an accidental eye poke in the second round forced Muhammad out, resulting in a no contest.
Muhammad has invariably demonstrated his dominance in the Octagon, as highlighted by his remarkable 11-fight unbeaten streak. But he has struggled to earn the respect he deserves.
However, now that the 36-year-old Chicago native has claimed the title, he's elevated his trash-talking game and flipped the script on his critics. Mendez fully supports the shift, believing Muhammad has earned the right to bask in the spotlight...
Mendez On Muhammad's New Attitude: 'They Belittled Him, Now Belal Is The Man'
During a recent episode of the Javier Mendez Podcast, the esteemed MMA coach shared his thoughts on Muhammad's shift in approach after capturing the UFC welterweight title. Mendez remarked that despite being overlooked for years, even with an impressive win streak, Muhammad has now rightfully earned the power to dictate his own path.
Look at Belal Muhammad, look at what he had to do," Mendez said. "That poor guy had to do everything, waiting; he was undefeated for how many fights, and he's knocking on the door, and everybody was like, 'Oh, he didn’t deserve it,' and he kept pushing. He finally got his shot, and he did what he needed to do—he won a decisive victory over Leon Edwards. And now, it's like, who's doing all the talking? Now Belal is doing all the chirping because they belittled him, and now Belal is the man. Now he's in charge, and I kind of love what he's doing because it was done to him.
Mendez further added that now, as a champion, "Remember the Name" has the power to pick his next opponent.
He bided his time, and now he's the king. I don't care what you say—he can do whatever he wants, chirp as much as he wants. He can chirp all he wants because he's the champ, and that was done to him. He got his opportunity, and he rose to the occasion, coming out with the victory. So now he's the champ, and now he's calling the shots like he wants to. Obviously, at the end of the day, the UFC decides who they’re going to give him, but he can decide the date. If he turns down an opponent, then obviously he doesn't have to fight that opponent, but I don't think Belal is going to do that. Right now, why not have fun with it like he's doing?
Muhammad has embraced the idea of defending his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov, all while engaging in a fiery social media exchange with Kamaru Usman. The question of who will stand across from Muhammad for his first title defense remains up in the air, and only time will reveal his next challenger.