The city of Chicago has named Sept. 20 “Belal Muhammad Day.”
Muhammad, 36, is being recognized for his championship victory over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 last July in Manchester, a five-round performance that pushed “Remember the Name” to 24-3 with one No Contest.
“REMEMBER THE DATE,” Muhammad wrote on social media. “Honored and blessed Chicago, we got our own day. Love my city.”
Muhammad is expected to make his first 170-pound title defense at some point in early 2025; however, it’s not yet known of the promotion will select top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov or former welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman as his first assignment.
“He’s one of the best welterweights to ever do it – I mean, [Usman] lost to Leon twice, and I just dominated Leon,” Muhammad told Remember the Show. “I did it better than him. He can say, ‘Oh, I had this win in 2015,’ but bro, that was 2015. Like, why are you sitting there grasping at straws to back then when nobody even knew who Leon was? Nobody knew who you were. This new version of Leon, that’s the version I beat. The one that beat you, that’s the one I just dominated.”
The 37 year-old Usman (20-4) is coming off three straight losses.