Belal Muhammad has clapped back at featherweight champion Ilia Topuria after the Georgian mocked his title reign.
Earlier this week, Topuria claimed that Muhammad is a “fake champion”, and backed Shavkat Rakhmonov to beat him when the pair fight later this year at UFC 310 for his welterweight title. The pair have had a feud going for months, and neither appear to be backing down on their stance.
Topuria is set to defend his world title against BMF Champion Max Holloway at UFC 308 later this month in Abu Dhabi. And he is keen to take home both belts, much to the bemusement of Muhammad and some other fighters, who don’t feel he qualifies for the secondary title.
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Ilia Topuria picks Shavkat Rakhmonov to beat Belal Muhammad in UFC 310 clash
Ilia Topuria has been feuding with Belal Muhammad for a while now, and when asked how he feels his rival will do in his first defence he didn’t mince words. The pair had previously clashed over how the Georgian would do in a street fight with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Muhammad said that Topuria should be careful what he wishes for challenging any fighter from Dagestan to throw down on the streets. This angered the featherweight, who clapped back on social media, and has since branded him a ‘fake champion.
During an Instagram live video, Topuria was asked ‘Belal vs Shavkat?’ He replied: “Shavkat, Belal is a fake champion. Fake. I think right now in the welterweight division the one who will come back and take the belt again is Kamaru Usman. Easy work for Usman.”
Belal Muhammad slams Ilia Topuria with Colby Covington jibe
Muhammad had a fairly witty retort to Topuria’s claims, noting that he had recently appeared in a promotional video with Max Holloway wearing a replica BMF title belt. Topuria is featherweight champion, but has never competed for the generally ceremonial and unrecognised BMF strap.
Holloway won the belt from Justin Gaethje in a lightweight clash at UFC 300, and has since moved back down to featherweight to fight for the legitimate world title. And Muhammad noted that Topuria’s efforts to act as if he is BMF champion are reminiscent of Colby Covington’s infamous antics.
The controversial American won interim gold in 2018 when he defeated Rafael Dos Anjos. But when Tyron Woodley defended his title against Darren Till a few months later, he was relieved of that title given that the undisputed was still competing.
However, Covington would still make appearances with his belt, claiming to ‘defend’ it against Robbie Lawler before losing to Kamaru Usman at UFC 245. But he claimed that fight was stopped early, and continued to bring around his belt, which at that point had become antiquated due to a design change.
And Muhammad mocked his rival for the similarities, saying of Topuria: “Didn’t this dork just buy a fake BMF belt to pose with? He’s starting to become the Georgian version of Coby Covington.” Topuria quickly snapped back, branding the welterweight a ‘crotch sniffer’