Last weekend, Belal Muhammad lost his championship by the slimmest of margins, but he undoubtedly gained something almost as important: recognition from the mixed martial arts fanbase.
Belal Muhammad Drops Strap in All-Time Classic
Making the first defense of his title after a failed booking against Shavkat Rakhmonov fell through, Belal Muhammad stepped into the Octagon to battle his first official challenger in the form of top Aussie competitor Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315. The American was coming off a nearly year-long lay off since ripping the belt away from previous 170-lb gold standard Leon Edwards last July.
Out of all the top names that could have been chosen to vie for the welterweight championship, Della Maddalena found himself in a truly unique position. Before he was slotted into the main event of last Saturday’s show, the Australian boxing specialist was originally scheduled to battle Leon Edwards in March at UFC London. However, he was taken off that card and replaced by Sean Brady, in order to face off with Belal Muhammad in Canada.
Although many fans bemoaned the idea of having a perceived “boring” and “uninteresting” fighter like Belal Muhammad headline an entire pay-per-view, the Chicago representative put on easily the most entertaining and thrilling performance of his whole career. While he is widely-known for his adept wrestling prowess, “Remember the Name” opted to stay on the feet with Della Maddalena for almost the entire bout, only employing a few sparse takedowns here and there.
What resulted was a 170-lb title match for the ages, one that Muhammad sadly came up short by unanimous decision.
Belal Muhammad Deserves Plaudit Despite UFC 315 Defeat
Going into his first outing as UFC champion, many were quick to write off Belal Muhammad for presumably having a grappling-heavy gameplan in mind to keep Della Maddalena on the canvas; which was a similar strategy he used for a lot of his past opponents. Instead, the Midwest native engaged in an electrifying firefight with his challenger, and, despite suffering several grizzly injuries to his face, managed to overwhelm and even hurt the younger Della Maddalena at several points. In fact, Muhammad nearly matched his foe in every category in terms of strikes landed.
For the majority of his stint in the promotion, Belal Muhammad has almost always carried the stigma of a fighter that fans positively despised to watch compete, given his lack of stoppages and highlight-reel moments inside the cage. However, by choosing to avoid using his natural style and adopting a more boxing-centered approach, the former champion delivered on a spectacular showing in his second pay-per-view headlining scrap in a row.
Where Does Belal Muhammad Go From Here?
Following his praise-worthy defeat to Della Maddalena, Muhammad now stands at a precarious position in his UFC tenure. Being 36-years old, and residing in a division where the next wave of hungry and talented young contenders are starting to take over, the door for another title shot may just be out of reach for him.
But with his Fight of the Night-winning performance in Montreal now etched into the history books, Muhammad will unquestionably enter his next fight with something that he’s never had before: praise and anticipation from the fans.
