Belal Muhammad is confident that he will defend his welterweight title at UFC 315 by stopping his first challenger.
Though Muhammad has suffered knockout losses in the past, the current titleholder has made significant improvements in his striking.
Many believe that Jack Della Maddalena will hold the advantage while the fight stays standing due to his boxing skills, but the champion doesn’t see it this way.
Muhammad’s wrestling has seen him dominate top strikers at 170 pounds but having compared his stand up ability to Canelo Alvarez in the past, ‘Remember the Name’ is aiming to produce just his third UFC win via strikes when he headlines the Bell Center in Montreal.
- READ MORE: Belal Muhammad vs Jack Della Maddalena predicted by man who has fought both UFC 315 headliners
Belal Muhammad says he’ll knock Jack Della Maddalena out with an overhand after turning him into a wrestler
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Belal Muhammad gave a detailed breakdown of how he believes May 10 will play out.
The champion envisions his challenger being caught off guard in the opening round once he starts to lose the striking exchanges, causing an element of panic for Jack Della Maddalena and his team.
Muhammad believes that he will have such an advantage that it will be on his opponent to switch to a plan B where they try to beat the 36-year-old at his own game.
“Second round, he’s going to come out and shoot a takedown on me. I’m going to sprawl, then I’m going to look at him and laugh. Then I’m going to look at DC [Daniel Cormier] and do the Max Holloway, ‘I’m the best boxer in the UFC’.
With Muhammad continuing to pour on the pressure, he says Della Maddalena will be even more desperate to take the fight to the floor which will then allow him to really let his hands go.
Having already taunted and showboated against his opponent, ‘Remember the Name’ sees himself closing UFC 315 in style by setting his opponent up for a knockout blow.
“Then I’m going to hit him with a couple more hands. Then, he’s not going to know what to do again, so he’s going to shoot another single leg. I’m going to turn, throw him off the fence, hit him with a body shot. He’s going to drop.
“I’m going to look at him, point to him, tell him to stand up. The ref’s going to tell me like, ‘Yo, we need action here’. Then I’m going to faint the jab to the body and go overhand and then he’s going to drop.”
Belal Muhammad’s striking will be very important at UFC 315 even if he doesn’t knock out Jack Della Maddalena
Though we did see Belal Muhammad stop Sean Brady with strikes at UFC 280, the welterweight champion isn’t known as a dangerous puncher even if his boxing skills have come a long way.
Jack Della Maddalena might be the more dangerous of the two men but we saw in Muhammad’s last fight how he’s able to use his striking to unsettle opponents.
Leon Edwards is a very technical and accurate striker but he was unable to get settled or earn some space to really showcase this ability last July.
Combined with his level changes, Muhammad’s constant output means he’s always giving his opponent something to deal with rather than allowing them time to set up their own offense.