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The UFC 288 co-main event is the setting where a top-5 battle of welterweights saw the #4 ranked, Belal Muhammad, win a five-round decision over the #5 ranked, Gilbert Burns. Muhammad looked sharp right away, giving Burns a variety of looks while dumping a steady pace of volume. Burns was complaining about his shoulder in the fight, stating that he was unable to throw his left hand. Like a true warrior, Gilbert kept fighting, but Belal was too for him tonight. It looks like Muhammad just earned himself a title shot!
Check out our UFC 288 description of Gilbert Burns vs. Belal Muhammad
Burns was getting several different looks from Muhammad to get this one going. Belal was constantly switching up his stance, while launching straights in between. Gilbert shot in for the takedown, but Muhammad was wise to it and remained on his feet. Belal even knocked over Burns on two occasions.
The kicks of Belal were terrorizing Burns early in the second act. Gilbert was having difficulty landing more than one strike at a time. By the third round, Burns was barely throwing at all. Muhammad slowly pressured forward, launching kicks to the body that were battering the right arm of Burns.
The fourth frame saw Belal continue to push the same sort of pace. Burns was only throwing his right hand at this point, and would periodically connect with it, but it simply wasn’t enough to overcome someone using many more weapons. The fifth and final round was just more of the same. Belal Muhammad def. Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46 x2): Welterweight
UFC 288 highlights
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