Belal Muhammad is determined to become a fighting champion.
Just days before his shot at winning the title at UFC 304, the top-ranked welterweight contender remains focused on the task at hand, which includes facing Leon Edwards in enemy territory to claim the championship.
Muhammad’s journey to the title shot was delayed after becoming the No. 1 contender in May 2023, as he had to wait months for Edwards to defend his belt against Colby Covington in December.
Now, seven months after Edwards’ victory, Muhammad is eager to get back in action, with the promise that a win on Saturday will reignite the division.
“I love to fight,” Muhammad shared with MMA Fighting. “You have no idea how antsy I am, where I’m telling my coach, ‘Let’s do something, let’s just get somebody else.”
“My goal is to win this belt and then go back to Abu Dhabi and have my first title defense there [at UFC 308]. I want to stay active. I’m always training, I’m always in the gym, I’m always working. We get paid to fight. We don’t get paid to sit on the sidelines.”
While Edwards has faced periods of inactivity, he defended his belt twice in 2023, adhering to the typical schedule for UFC champions.
Muhammad’s title shot timing aligned with UFC’s return to England, where Edwards and interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall headlined the event.
Nevertheless, Muhammad believes that Edwards is holding onto his relevance rather than just following the UFC’s schedule.
“Leon, like I said, it’s a fear thing,” Muhammad stated. “He knows these next matchups are going to be tough. He knows that he’s going to lose.”
“If he didn’t have this belt, nobody would know who he is. He doesn’t talk for himself. He doesn’t promote himself. He doesn’t even know how to speak. Even when he goes on these podcasts, he’s like whispering. He just looks so stupid. He looks fearful. He just looks like he doesn’t belong here. That belt doesn’t belong on his shoulder. It belongs on my shoulder. Once I get the belt, I’m going to show the division.”
Muhammad welcomes the opportunity to challenge Edwards in his home country, even with the crowd favoring the champ.
He sees Manchester as the perfect place to begin his reign as champion.
“I love it,” Muhammad expressed. “That’s where this title reign, this title run — one of the hardest title runs I think in UFC history when you look at the matchups I had, the people I had to fight — it ends with me going to his hometown, beating him on his home soil, and taking the belt from there and bringing it back here.”
For Muhammad, becoming UFC champion is just the beginning of a larger goal. He aims to be the best welterweight in history.
The 36-year-old veteran from Chicago plans to fight frequently and defend the belt against all challengers.
“My goal isn’t to be the champion,” Muhammad emphasized. “My goal is to be the best welterweight to ever do it.”
If successful on Saturday, Muhammad looks forward to facing the next challenge and is ready to take on any opponent lined up by the UFC.
“You give me Shavkat [Rakhmonov], you give me [Jack Della Maddalena], you give me Ian Garry, and then I walk through all of them, there’s nothing else,” Muhammad asserted. “I’m just going to be cemented as the best to ever do it.”