UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad has flown under the radar of the title conversation, largely due to the Usman-Colby-Masvidal love/hate triangle dominating the division for the past couple of years. With his recent win over Vicente Luque, however, Muhammad told The Fighter vs the Writer that he would happily welcome a matchup against Colby Covington or Khamzat Chimaev. In fact, he doesn’t expect Colby to want the Khamzat fight, citing Covington’s preference for lightweights and easy fights.
I tell people they’re like ‘oh well Khamzat’s going to fight Colby’ and I’m like Colby’s not taking that fight. Look who Colby is fighting, look who Colby is calling out.
Belal Muhammad Says Colby Won’t Take Khamzat Fight, Offers to Step Up
He’s calling out [lightweights]. Now that his tooth is broken, he’s probably going to be on the sideline for a couple of years until he gets some money from [Jorge] Masvidal.” Colby is suing Jorge Masvidal for damages following an altercation outside a Miami steakhouse.
Belal continued, pointing out that Colby prefers fighting easier targets, with the notable exception of a title fight against Kamaru Usman. Belal Muhammad, however, prioritizes staying active.
“I don’t think Colby’s going to take a fight with either of us. He’s looking for somebody off losses, or he’s looking for a [lightweight], or I think he’s probably going to call out a Nick Diaz or a Nate Diaz. He’s going to wait on the sidelines for one of those type of fights. I just don’t think he’s going to take any tough matchups really.
Like I said, I’m a guy that likes to stay busy, likes to stay fighting. I know Khamzat likes to stay fighting, stay active so I think coming off back-to-back weeks of us fighting, I think that makes a lot of sense, especially with the title fight looming.”
On the matter of Khamzat Chimaev, Belal Muhammad really wants to derail the Borz hype train.
“Khamzat was one of the trolls tweeting Luque knocking me out, so I have no respect for him. I’m down to fight him. That fight would mean a lot to me. To beat a guy like that who everybody thinks is invincible and untouchable. Obviously, he had a great fight with Gilbert Burns. Nothing but respect for both of those guys but I definitely want to beat him. I want to be the guy that stops him.”
Do you think Belal Muhammad should fight Khamzat next, or is the Khamzat-Colby fight the shakeup the welterweight division needs? Let us now in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqLOt57F2NY
