Los Angeles — UFC welterweight champ Belal Muhammad was at Guardian Jiu-Jitsu in L.A. during the UFC 311 fight week, giving back to the younger generation who were on hand to both train, and meet some UFC stars.
Getting to be an ambassador for the sport, and the UFC itself, is a special opportunity for Muhammad, as he outlined to Cageside Press in an exclusive interview.
“It’s amazing. Any time I get to see a kid smile or leave them with an impression where I see them walking away, and they’re like so giddy, it’s cool. Because I know what it is to be a fan, I know what it is to be a person, and I never had those type of people come into my life, I never had a champion walk into my gym early or anything like that,” explained Muhammad, adding “I had great mentors, great teams around me, great coaches. So for myself, I don’t take it lightly. I gotta show them, I gotta hold myself to a higher accountability.”
If course, where Belal Muhammad goes, questions follow. Just when will he return, after a nasty infection saw him pulled from a fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 last month? Rakhmonov secured the next title shot at that very same event, getting past short-notice stand-in Ian Machado Garry. One week later, it was Joaquin Buckley earning his biggest win yet, over ex-interim champ Colby Covington. There’s a lot of options for Muhammad as he looks ahead to his first title defense and beyond.
“I’m excited man. I’m excited to get back to training and working. Obviously Shavkat’s next, but like you said, after him, you’ve got Buckley, you’ve got [Carlos] Prates, you’ve got Ian Garry. I’m excited to see what the rest of the division does and how it plays out,” exclaimed Muhammad. “But for me, I want to just stay active. I want to get my first fight out of the way, first title defense out of the way, then look for the next date, look for the next victim.”
With luck, that first title defense will still come in the first half of 2025. “Yeah, for sure. I’m hoping, definitely before summer time,” he stated. “After Ramadan, ready to go and back at it.”
Watch our full interview with UFC welterweight champ Belal Muhammad above.