Belal Muhammad has now spoken openly about his recent defeat and plans for the future.
At UFC 315, Muhammad was beaten by Jack Della Maddalena in his first defense of the welterweight title.
A highly impressive performance from the underdog challenger also led to criticism of Muhammad’s approach in the aftermath of the Octagon’s long awaited return to Montreal.
Now that some time has passed, the former champ has both reflected on May 10 and looked ahead to the rest of the year.
Muhammad admitted where he went wrong but he doesn’t believe that he has fallen too far down the pecking order at 170 pounds.
Belal Muhammad says Kamaru Usman is his most likely opponent if he beats Joaquin Buckley
Belal Muhammad spoke extensively about his defeat and what’s next during the latest episode of his ‘Remember the Show’ podcast alongside Jason and Jon Anik.
He was frustrated with his own performance at UFC 315 but that has only given him the motivation to bounce back stronger with the 36-year-old confident that a return to the win column will put him right back in the mix.
“Keep continuing to do what they think I can’t do. I’m going to be the guy that gets the belt again. I’m gonna be the guy that… I’m one fight away from winning the belt. I’m one fight away from being there, man.”
There are several viable contenders in the welterweight division right now and with Muhammad being a former champion, it’s easy to see him getting matched up with any of them.
He believes that if Kamaru Usman emerges victorious in his return to the Octagon on June 14 where he faces Joaquin Buckley, this is the direction that the UFC will go in due to his current feud with ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’.
“When I think of who it could be, obviously, jumps off the table if Kamaru wins, I feel like it’ll be Kamaru if he beats Buckley, gets past Buckley. You got Ian [Machado] Garry, you got [Sean] Brady, and then even if Buckley wins.”
When talking about his desired timeframe for a return, Muhammad said that it is “heart breaking” that he won’t be able to compete in front of his hometown fans at UFC 319 in Chicago.
Though August is out of the conversation, he did say that December is too far away, with October being a happy middle ground as long as it doesn’t mean making the long trip to Abu Dhabi, which the UFC tends to visit in this month.
“I want to go tomorrow like, ‘Yeah! Let’s get this bro, let’s go again. Yeah, let’s go tomorrow,’ and it’s like alright, let’s make those adjustments. Let’s get healthy and let’s do this… For me, the dream month would be October. But not all the way in Abu Dhabi… Abu Dhabi’s just so far that you have to get out that early and it has to be like a week camp and it’s just a long process to do a camp out there.”
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Belal Muhammad may well be more than one win away from getting another title shot
Though a high-profile grudge match with Kamaru Usman would seemingly help his case, Belal Muhammad might have a longer path back to the title than he’s expecting.
With Jack Della Maddalena set to defend his title against Islam Makhachev, who vacated his lightweight title to move up, there are several other names at 170 pounds that are all pushing for their shot.
| Name | Ranking | Current UFC winning streak |
| Sean Brady | #2 | 3 in a row |
| Shavkat Rakhmonov | #3 | 7 in a row |
| Ian Machado Garry | #6 | 1 bounce back win (Carlos Prates) |
| Joaquin Buckley | #7 | 6 in a row |
| Michael Morales | #8 | 6 in a row |
For Muhammad to push his way to the front of the queue again, there’s a good chance that he’ll need to string some wins together even if the main event of UFC 315 was very entertaining.