Belal Muhammad trained with the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev before his fight with Vicente Luque. In a interview with Helen Yee, he spoke about the intensity of their approach in the gym:
“There’s no like secret tricks or anything. It’s just basically hard work. It’s not like any fun rolls, not like fun rounds or let’s play or anything like that. None of them want to lose a round. They don’t want to lose a minute in the round. There’s a different mentality to when you’re training with them. There’s no joking around. They go straight into the warm-up, go straight into everything. I think it’s a different level of discipline than a lot of these MMA gyms are used to.”
Makhachev even revealed that he is always prepared for every possible scenario, while sharpening every weapon in his arsenal before going into a fight. The benefits of the preparation have shown as the Dagestani lightweight has finished his last four fights in the UFC, including the likes of Dan Hooker and Thiago Moises.
The clash between Oliveira and Makhachev will go down as one of the biggest lightweight title clashes in history. ‘Do Bronx’ will be aiming to reclaim the title he never really lost, while Islam Makhachev chases history in following Khabib Nurmagomedov’s footsteps and winning the lightweight championship for the first time.
Belal Muhammad recently detailed why former champion Charles Oliveira will have his work cut out against Islam Makhachev when they collide for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 280 on October 2
In the same interview with Helen Yee in San Diego, Muhammad agreed with Khabib Nurmagomedov, who earlier stated that Makhachev will be looking to finish the Brazilian. ‘Remember the Name’ said:
“I see how good Islam [Makhachev] is on the ground. It’s another level than a lot of these guys think. There’s jiu-jitsu then there is Dagestani jiu-jitsu; it’s like a lot tougher, a lot stronger. Islam is going to be wanting to take you down. Islam’s going to be wanting to get on top of you, not be afraid to go on the ground with you, and the last guy who did that was Paul Felder and he finished him on top with elbows. I think the submission game that Islam brings, I think this is going to be a long night for Charles.”
Makhachev is one shy of Oliveira’s impressive 11-fight win streak after his victory over Bobby Green in February. The Brazilian’s record is only bettered among active UFC fighters by 15 consecutive wins for welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. (Anderson Silva holds the overall record at 16 consecutive victories.)
Islam Makhachev suffered his only loss back at UFC 192 in 2015, where he was knocked out by Adriano Martins. Since then, he has looked formidable, climbing all the way up the rankings for his maiden title challenge in the division.
Watch Muhammad discuss the Makhachev-Oliveira clash below:
