UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad is looking to put himself one step closer to a title shot with a win at UFC 280. The welterweight throne will likely be tied up by a trilogy showdown between Leon Edwards and the former champion Kamaru Usman.
‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ earned a decision win against the English-Jamaican Edwards in 2015. They rematched in 2022 in which Usman controlled much of the fight until ‘Rocky’ won the bout in the final round with a head kick knockout. It appears that these two are heading for a trilogy fight with the welterweight crown on the line.
The top five ranked Belal Muhammad recently commented on the trilogy bout between Edwards and Usman, ahead of his fight this weekend. Speaking in the UFC pre-fight press conference, he said:
“Kamaru was on his way to victory but it’s the fight game and anything can happen in the fight game. One Zig when you should have zagged and you go to sleep. I think that for Leon Edwards he’s gonna have to mentally go through the trenches right now in camp because he broke in there. He showed it, he had his head down, wasn’t looking at his coaches. And when you when the world sees it, it shows us something that you could be broken.”
‘Remember the Name’ also advised the Nigerian-born Usman that he should take a step back to recover after his knockout loss. Muhammad continued:
“So if I’m Kamaru, you’re gonna go in there right away take him down, right away. Do the same thing you did in there and I think that he’ll do that. But you just never know how somebody comes out comes back from a knockout … It all depends on the people he has around them in training … Especially because you’re dominating that fight, you’re on your way to victory mentally.”
The 34-year-old Belal Muhammad will be looking closer to UFC gold, but standing in his way is the undefeated Sean Brady.
See the full press conference with Belal Muhammad below:
Belal Muhammad vs Sean Brady at UFC 280
Belal Muhammad is on an impressive seven-fight win streak and will look to add another W to record when he faces Sean Brady this weekend at UFC 280. Sean Brady is undefeated in MMA and has a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under the Gracie’s. Muhammad feels that Brady is just another person on his way to a title shot. He said:
“I just feel like emotionally it’s just another hurdle I gotta get over. Another guy that I get to prove to the doubters that I’m the best guy in the division. Saturday night I get to prove it.”
The US-born Sean Brady even picked this fight and called out Muhammad on Twitter. That callout and trash talk coming from Brady only motivated ‘Remember the Name.’ He added:
“He probably has all the confidence in the world. He’s just coming off a big win against a top-six guy. So the way that he tried to call it out on Twitter, acting like he could beat me and all this other stuff, that’s what motivates me.”
Belal Muhammad and Sean Brady will get to battle for a top-ranked spot in the competitive UFC welterweight division. The UFC 280 showdown is booked for this Saturday live from Abu Dhabi, on October 22.
Belal Muhammad has been training with former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov for his upcoming fight with Sean Brady. Muhammad will take on the rising prospect in a highly-anticipated matchup at UFC 280. on Oct. 22 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He linked up with the retired unbeaten Dagestani fighter […]