UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad feels he should get more credit for a title shot than former adversary Leon Edwards.
Muhammad outstruck Vicente Luque towards a unanimous decision in the UFC Vegas 51 headliner. He’s now won three in a row after wins over former title challengers Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia and before that a no-contest against Edwards.
Muhammad got revenge against Luque after getting knocked out in their first matchup at UFC 205. After earning arguably the biggest win of his career, Muhammad thinks he deserves more respect when it comes to the title shot conversation.
During his UFC Vegas 51 post-fight press conference, Muhammad opined on where he believes he stands against some of the top welterweight contenders.
“Who is the only one in the division with a better run than I am on?” Muhammad said. “I’m literally fighting Maia, Wonderboy, Luque. Who is Colby fighting? He’s fighting guys off of two losses in a row. Who is Leon fighting? He’s fighting ’55ers.
“None of these guys are fighting the contenders in the division, none of these guys have the guts to do that. I’m the one that’s going through 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. I’m the one saying yes to the toughest in the division. Leon may have more wins than me, but he doesn’t have the quality of wins that I have.”
Muhammad went on to answer whether or not he feels more deserving of a title shot against Kamaru Usman than Edwards.
“I do. I don’t think he deserves to fight for the title. I think he has that Dana White privilege, but whatever. I don’t expect to be handed anything, I had to fight for everything I got. And I have to be willing to keep doing it.”
Muhammad is far from the first to refer to ‘Dana White Privilege’ during various interviews. Former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson coined the phrase aimed at Michael Chandler during the leadup to his fight against Beneil Dariush at UFC 262.
While nothing has been officially announced, Edwards will get the next title shot against Usman, as confirmed by UFC President Dana White. This means that Muhammad will more than likely need to win one more to earn a shot at the belt.
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