UFC fighters have no problem declaring themselves the greatest of all time.
That includes No. 2-ranked welterweight contender Belal Muhammad, who’s convinced he’ll retire as the best 170-pound fighter to ever compete inside the Octagon. That’s a pretty lofty goal when you consider he’s up against the likes of former champions Kamaru Usman and Georges St-Pierre.
Stopping Leon Edwards at UFC 304 on July 27 in Manchester would certainly be a good start.
“My goal isn’t to be the champion,” Muhammad, 36, told MMA Fighting. “My goal is to be the best welterweight to ever do it, so for me to go out there and beat Leon, who beat [Kamaru] Usman twice, who everybody thought was the best welterweight to do it, then I’m ahead of him and I’m right underneath [Georges St-Pierre]. You give me Shavkat [Rakhmonov], you give me [Jack Della Maddalena], you give me Ian Garry, and then I walk through all of them, there’s nothing else. I’m just going to be cemented as the best to ever do it.”
Muhammad (23-3, 1 NC) has already defeated three former title challengers in his rise to the top of the division. That includes his UFC 288 victory over the one-armed Gilbert Burns in Newark. In addition, “Remember the Name” plans to restore the glitz and glamor to the welterweight class after a boring and uninspired run from Edwards.
One that included a “No Contest” against Muhammad in early 2021.
“If he didn’t have this belt, nobody would know who he is,” Muhammad continued. “He doesn’t talk for himself. He doesn’t promote himself. He doesn’t even know how to speak. Even when he goes on these podcasts, he’s like whispering. He just look so stupid. He looks fearful. He just looks like he doesn’t belong here. That belt doesn’t belong on his shoulder. It belongs on my shoulder. Once I get the belt, I’m going to show the division.”
To see who else is fighting at UFC 304 in Manchester click here.