Belal Muhammad recently answered whether he would fight Islam Makhachev should he become welterweight champion. The 36-year-old is scheduled to challenge champion Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 304 this Saturday and could be linked to a bout against the Dagestani should he become champion.
It is well documented that ‘Remember The Name’ and the reigning lightweight champion are close friends. However, Makhachev has expressed interest in moving up to 170-pounds and becoming a two-division UFC champion. If that remains his goal, there could be an interesting dilemma should Muhammad dethrone Edwards.
During his pre-fight media availability ahead of UFC 304, ‘Remember The Name’ was asked whether he would agree to fight the lightweight champion. Muhammad mentioned that he would refuse to fight Makhachev and instead outlined a path where they both could achieve double champ status. He said:
“I would never fight Islam [Makhachev], he’s my brother. So I think for myself maybe there’s two or three guys that are next in line after this fight…and then I have a chance to move up to middleweight…I think he’s [Makhachev] still got some fighters to fight, I still got some fighters to fight and then, we both could move up.”
Check out Belal Muhammad’s comments below:
Belal Muhammad believes Islam Makhachev could skip welterweight and move to middleweight
Belal Muhammad recently weighed in on the possibility of Islam Makhachev moving up to 170-pound and noted that he believes the Dagestani could skip the weight class and move directly to middleweight instead.
While speaking to Home of Fight, Muhammad mentioned that he believes Makhachev matches up very well to Dricus du Plessis and predicts that the lightweight champion would even defeat him. He said:
“I think [Makhachev would] beat [Dricus] du Plessis. I think he is a better all around fighter. He’s strong enough to compete with du Plessis. He can definitely do it if he wants to be a double champ.”
Check out Belal Muhammad’s comments below: