Team Khabib may be happy now that the gates have opened for Islam Makhachev to fulfil his double championship dreams, but they have not forgotten Belal Muhammad. ‘Remember The Name’ put on a great show against the Australian striking aficionado Jack Della Maddalena, but dropped his welterweight crown belt at UFC 315 after a unanimous decision loss. Despite the setback, Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s team has heaped praise on the former champion.
Islam Makhachev was the first one to send a message to Belal Muhammad, asking the former champion to keep his “head up.” He also mentioned that the Palestinian representative was fighting for more than just the UFC championship. Muhammad was fighting to pave the way for the next generation of fighters from his community. “He’s fighting for all generation of people win or lose, don’t define his legacy,” Makhachev stated on X.
Similarly, Team Khabib’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, also made sure to console Muhammad, echoing the same sentiment as the lightweight champion. Even though he dropped the belt, ‘Remember The Name’s manager claimed that he’s always a winner in the eyes of Team Khabib. “[Belal Muhammad] Today was fighting for something much bigger than ufc title, win or lose doesn’t define him as a man. He always going to be a champion for freedom & justice,” Abdelaziz stated in an Instagram post.
Meanwhile, the aftermath of UFC 315 posed one big question. What is next for Belal Muhammad? Is he going to get a title rematch? Well, that seems unlikely, but there is one particular thing that could help him get back to the title scene. Let’s take a look at that front.
A veteran journalist suggests that Belal Muhammad should fight one more time in 2025
The title scene is occupied for sure right now, with Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Garry vying for a shot at welterweight gold. Even Sean Brady has found himself in the mix, although he’s open to compete in a non-title fight next if he doesn’t get a title fight immediately. In the meantime, Joaquin Buckley is scheduled to take on former champ Kamaru Usman, who’s on a three-fight losing skid, next month at UFC Atlanta.
According to MMA Fighting’s senior reporter, Damon Martin, this is the fight that Belal Muhammad needs to watch out for. Claiming that the UFC has big fights as options on their hands, Martin claimed that pairing up the winner of the Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley fight against Belal Muhammad at the end of 2025 makes a lot of sense, especially against ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’.
“The UFC is CRAZY if they don’t somehow book Belal Muhammad vs. Kamaru Usman later this year. And Ian Machado Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley is also easy matchmaking, depending on the Buckley/Usman fight,” Martin tweeted.
Well, Belal Muhammad and Kamaru Usman have a beef between them, which was evident after they had a verbal spat on the latter’s ‘Pound 4 pound’ podcast. We still don’t have the episode where the spat went down, but maybe we can see them inside the Octagon. Regardless, Muhammad hasn’t yet spoken about his future, and it’s understandable since he just lost his title.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see what Dana White has in store for the former champion, as he suffered his first loss since 2019. What do you think is next for ‘Remember the Name’? Drop your comments below.
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