Belal Muhammad thinks he is next in line for a fight against UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman.
Riding the momentum of his win Saturday night against Stephen Thompson, Muhammad insisted on himself being the next name in line for the welterweig…
Belal Muhammad thinks he is next in line for a fight against UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman.
Riding the momentum of his win Saturday night against Stephen Thompson, Muhammad insisted on himself being the next name in line for the welterweight division’s current champ. He made his case for a title fight following his win, stating exactly why he thinks other names don’t match up to a title fight including him.
Muhammad sees other challengers as not a good enough test for Usman. He thinks the current champ has received too much credit for his wins and isn’t as good as people make him out to be.
“My streak is as long as Leon [Edwards’] streak, and he already lost to Usman. Let’s stop with these rematches. Let’s stop with ‘oh he beat Colby [Covington] twice, he beat [Jorge] Masvidal twice, he’s the GOAT.’ Nah, give him new blood,” said Muhammad during the post-fight press conference Saturday.
Muhammad arguably scored the biggest win of his career over the weekend, putting on a dominant performance against “Wonderboy” Thompson. His use of wrestling along with ground-and-pound allowed him a lopsided decision win that saw him earn a 10-8 round on all three judge’s scorecards.
Muhammad is now undefeated since 2019 with six wins in that time. Before Saturday, his most recent win came against veteran Demian Maia at UFC 263.
He should expect a jolt up the welterweight rankings next week, as Thompson entered the weekend ranked fifth in the division.
Usman has dominated the welterweight division since becoming champion in 2019 with a win over Tyron Woodley. He defended his belt for the fifth time in November, defeating Covington via decision in a rematch.
Do you think Belal Muhammad should be next in line for a title fight?
Stephen Thompson vs. Belal Muhammad was a one-sided fight.
The two fighters met in a bout on Saturday night (December 18, 2021) at the UFC Vegas 45 event from Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility.
Thompson threw a lot of kicks to open th…
Stephen Thompson vs. Belal Muhammad was a one-sided fight.
The two fighters met in a bout on Saturday night (December 18, 2021) at the UFC Vegas 45 event from Las Vegas, Nevada at the UFC Apex facility.
Thompson threw a lot of kicks to open the first round. Belal did tag him with a right hand. They did some cage fighting while in the clinch and Belal landed several good left hands. Belal did score a late round takedown where he got his back and dished out a lot of damage to the bell. In the second round, Belal scored two takedowns with the latter being the dominant position as he held him there while holding onto his right arm for a submission. Belal later dished out some punches. Belal went right back to the takedown in the third round. Thompson stood up then stuffed a takedown. Belal did get a takedown right after that. Belal got the decision win.
Peep the highlights of the fight courtesy of the UFC’s official Twitter account:
Thompson had gone 2-3 in his previous five outings heading into this fight. He suffered a unanimous decision loss to Darren Till in the main event of the UFC Liverpool event back in May 2018, a loss to former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in the headliner of UFC on ESPN+ 6 by knockout in the second round, and a decision win Vicente Luque at the UFC 244 pay-per-view event from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. He rallied when he beat Geoff Neal at UFC Vegas 17 by decision. His most recent fight saw him get beat by Gilbert Burns by decision at UFC 264.
Muhammad had gone 8-1-1 in his last 10 fights all coming under the UFC banner with his lone loss to Geof Neal by decision in January 2019. He’s won last four fights over Curtis Millender, Takashi Sato, Lyman Good, and Dhiego Lima before going to a non-contest with Leon Edwards at UFC Vegas 21 in March 21.
Let’s see how the fighters reacted to the outcome of this fight:
Put some respect on his $@& name and remember it, let’s go Bully!! #UFCVegas45
MMA News has you covered with results, highlights, and post-fight tidbits from UFC Vegas 45. Be sure to keep checking the homepage for the latest news.
The weigh-in results for UFC Vegas 45: Lewis vs. Daukaus are in, and we’ve got the results along with a preview for tomorrow night’s event for you below.
The weigh-ins are complete for UFC Vegas 45, and three fighters have missed weight. In Justin …
The weigh-in results for UFC Vegas 45: Lewis vs. Daukaus are in, and we’ve got the results along with a preview for tomorrow night’s event for you below.
The weigh-ins are complete for UFC Vegas 45, and three fighters have missed weight. In Justin Tafa’s case, he made history by becoming the first heavyweight to ever miss weight. Greg Hardy initially missed weight at UFC Vegas 12 last year, but he was able to successfuly make weight on his second attempt. Tafa, however, did not return to the scales after weighing in at 267 pounds, which is one pound over the heavyweight limit.
Macy Chiasson also missed weight for her featherweight bout against Raquel Pennington, coming in at 148.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds over the limit. Meanwhile, Sijara Eubanks’ struggles on the scale continue, with the flyweight weighing in 1.5 pounds over the flyweight limit ahead of her bout against Melissa Gatto.
UFC Vegas 45 takes place from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The entire card will stream on ESPN+, with the prelims starting at 4:00 PM ET and the main card beginning at 7:00 PM ET.
UFC Vegas 45 Preview & Faceoffs
The final card of 2021 goes down tomorrow night in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, top-10 heavyweights Derrick Lewis (#3) and Chris Daukaus (#7) will slug it out. When these two big boys exchange fire, former police officer Daukaus will do so cautiously because of the power he knows Lewis possesses.
In his previous bout at UFC 265 against Ciryl Gane, Lewis admits that the pressure of vying for a UFC title in his hometown got to him. Tomorrow night, there will be a sparse and relatively quiet Apex crowd ready to behold another Black Beast explosion. Should Lewis earn another knockout tomorrow at Daukaus’ expense, he will stand alone as the UFC knockout record-holder.
Check out the face-off between these two heavyweights below.
In the co-main event, top-10 welterweights Stephen Thompson (#5) and Belal Muhammad (#10) will do battle. When Thompson first learned that this fight was booked, the UFC veteran was absolutely elated. He expects a fun, honest scrap between himself and Muhammad, unlike the way he feels his fight with Gilbert Burns went at UFC 264.
Should Thompson come out on the losing end, Muhammad believes that should earn him the same opportunity that Thompson has had on two separate occasions: fighting for the world title. If not, a bout with the highly touted Khamzat Chimaev would also suffice for the Chicagoan.
Here is the final face-off between these two ranked welterweights.
A co-main that will have us on the edge of our seats ?
This is a battle between two hardened UFC veterans. Cub Swanson recently revealed that there are some people in his inner circle that believe he should stop fighting. However, he hopes that big performances like the one he expects to turn in tomorrow will show them that he still has plenty left to offer the sport. Check out the face-off between these to battle-tested featherweights below.
UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson is set for his second fight of 2021 this weekend, and he’s glad it’s coming against a “good person” like Belal Muhammad.
This time last year, Thompson was gearing up to face fellow top-10 welterweight Geo…
UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson is set for his second fight of 2021 this weekend, and he’s glad it’s coming against a “good person” like Belal Muhammad.
This time last year, Thompson was gearing up to face fellow top-10 welterweight Geoff Neal in the main event of UFC Vegas 17. In a vintage performance on the feet, “Wonderboy” pieced up “Handz of Steel” on his way to a comfortable unanimous decision win, a triumph that firmly placed Thompson into title contention.
In his way will be #10-ranked welterweight Belal Muhammad, who’s coming off a controlling victory over Demian Maia at UFC 263. “Remember The Name” will likely look to stifle Thompson’s incredible kickboxing skills in a similar way to Durinho’s approach.
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Thompson Was Over The Moon To Accept Muhammad Fight
In a sport where animosity and trash talk is prevalent, many find it refreshing to have a matchup fueled by respect and comradeship every now and then. Passionate back-and-forths can be entertaining, but some would argue it often goes too far, take the build-up to Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 3, for example.
One man who couldn’t be more opposite to McGregor in terms of conduct and pre-fight respect is Stephen Thompson. The reason behind his title of the UFC’s “NMF” was on full display while he discussed his upcoming fight during an appearance on Submission Radio. After admitting his relief at finding an opponent before the end of the year, “Wonderboy” didn’t have anything but nice words to say about Muhammad.
“The UFC came to us and was like, ‘Hey, how does Belal Muhammad sound?’ This was about several weeks back (from the start of November), and I was in shape. I’m like, ‘Dude, thank you Belal, thank you.’ That’s what was going through my head, ‘Let’s make this happen.’ I love Belal Muhammad. He’s been trying to have me on his dang podcast forever, and I feel bad… every time it happens, something always messes up on my end.
“I love the guy, man. I’m so happy that he wanted to take this fight because I wanted another fight in this year. I’ve been out the past few years with injuries, so it’s been fairly difficult for me to get in there… I’m just excited to face off against a guy like Belal Muhammad, and he’s funny, man. I think he’s great; good fighter, good person, good personality, and we’re gonna put on a show for the fans, for sure.”
While this clash represents a crucial step in Thompson’s desire to mount a final run for the title and can perhaps be described as a must-win bout in that sense, it also represents a huge opportunity for Muhammad.
After winning four straight, the 33-year-old had a similar chance to jump towards the top five in a March main event against Leon Edwards. After eye pokes led to a disappointing and painful no contest on that occasion, “Remember The Name” will aim to join the welterweight elite with a victory inside the Apex this Saturday.
Who do you think will have their hand raised in the UFC Vegas 45 co-main event, Stephen Thompson or Belal Muhammad?
Regardless of Dana White’s claims, not everyone is afraid of Khamzat Chimaev.
Sans a brutal eye poke in a short-notice bout against Leon Edwards, Belal Muhammed has been on a tear since 2019. He’s dispatched Demian Maia, Dhiego Lima, and Lyman Goo…
Regardless of Dana White’s claims, not everyone is afraid of Khamzat Chimaev.
Sans a brutal eye poke in a short-notice bout against Leon Edwards, Belal Muhammed has been on a tear since 2019. He’s dispatched Demian Maia, Dhiego Lima, and Lyman Good during his current run. Wins over unranked opponents and an aging Maia may not be enough to earn “The Bully” a crack at the title, but he feels a win over Stephen Thompson this weekend will be enough to shoot him into contention (h/t MMA Junkie).
“The only guys who have beaten (Thompson) in the last whatever years is either the champion or Gilbert Burns, who’s fought for the title,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie at UFC Vegas 45 media day. “(Thompson has) fought for the title twice so if he fought for the title twice, I just beat (Demian) Maia who fought for the title twice– ‘Bully B’ needs to fight for the title once.”
Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf?
Khamzat Chimaev (Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa)
Thompson did fight for the title twice, but that was years ago. Currently, Thompson is 2-3 in his last five bouts. This means Muhammed may need to put in some more work before he’s summoned to fight for a belt. If that’s the case, the Chicagoan has no problem facing one of the promotion’s fastest rising stars in Khamzat Chimaev.
“He’s the biggest name right now, the biggest star, has the most momentum, the biggest hype,” Muhammad said. “He has Conor McGregor hype where it’s like you beat him, you gain more from beating him than anybody else in the division—where he has this stigma of him being the boogeyman of how he just dominated everybody. So you beat somebody like that, you’re the next star. You steal all of his hype, you steal all of his momentum. So it’s like, why not?”
Chimaev looked nearly unstoppable since he joined the UFC last year. He has the fastest turnaround in the organization’s history and most recently ran through Li Jingliang at UFC 267 in October. Belal Muhammad’s upcoming bout against Stephen Thompson takes place tomorrow (Dec. 18) at UFC Vegas 45.
How do you think a fight between Belal Muhammed and Khamzat Chimaev would play out?
UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson doesn’t expect upcoming opponent Belal Muhammad to approach their fight in the same way Gilbert Burns did at UFC 264 earlier this year.
Thompson saw his immediate title hopes heavily dented when he met “D…
UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson doesn’t expect upcoming opponent Belal Muhammad to approach their fight in the same way Gilbert Burns did at UFC 264 earlier this year.
Thompson saw his immediate title hopes heavily dented when he met “Durinho” in the co-main event of 2021’s second Conor McGregor-headlined pay-per-view. Heading into the contest, “Wonderboy” rode a two-fight win streak that featured unanimous decision triumphs over Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal.
Given that he remains one of the few names Kamaru Usman is yet to face at the top of the division, a victory over Burns would seemingly have led to another shot at UFC gold for Thompson. Unfortunately for him, that’s not how things played out inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Instead, Thompson’s success for the limited time the fight stayed on the feet was stifled by Burns’ desire to keep the contest on the mat. After controlling “Wonderboy” for much of the fight, the Brazilian was awarded a unanimous decision victory.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRLuEZ2pEu8/
Thompson Hopes To Showcase His Takedown Defense This Time Around
Thompson’s wish to secure a chance to bounce back fast with another fight before the close of the year was granted when Muhammad accepted the clash for the last event of 2021. The pair will collide in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 45 this Saturday night.
Despite facing an opponent with a similar style to Burns’, albeit perhaps less imposing, Thompson is raring to showcase the wrestling and takedown defense he knows he possesses.
During a recent interview with RT Sport MMA, “Wonderboy” suggested “Remember The Name” won’t employ the same gameplan as Burns did in July. According to the 38-year-old, Muhammad is too “honorable” to want to win like that.
“Number one, what really excites me is Belal Muhammad is very similar to my last opponent, Gilbert Burns, with the wrestling, with the jiu-jitsu. Now, I failed to do what I know I can do out in the Octagon against Gilbert Burns. It’s kinda hard to fight somebody, number one, who doesn’t really wanna fight, they just wanna hold you down, but knowing that Belal Muhammad is more of a fighter; I feel like he’s an honorable man, he really doesn’t want to win a fight that way. He’s fairly good everywhere, Belal Muhammad.
“Not only that, it will allow me to showcase the talent that I have, especially when it comes to the takedown defense, the wrestling. I wasn’t able to do that in my last fight. So going out there against somebody who’s similar to Gilbert Burns, go out there and beat this guy, will make it all worth it, for sure.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXRprtqPa0g/
Despite his setback earlier this year, Thompson isn’t giving up hope of mounting another title run. Given that he’s yet to face Usman, and because of the unique threat he poses to any welterweight, including “The Nigerian Nightmare,” a win this weekend and a victory over a top contender in 2022 could set the veteran up for his third championship fight in the UFC.
