Top 5: Belal Muhammad Inflection Points

Belal Muhammad left his fingerprints on the history books.

Brushed off at times as an unlikely contender, the VFS Academy linchpin arrived at the Ultimate Fighting Championship summit when he laid claim to the undisputed welterweight title with a five-round unanimous decision over Leon Edwards in the UFC 304 main event on July 27, 2024 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46.

Muhammad pestered the champion with a persistent jab and completed nine takedowns in the 25-minute encounter. Even so, Edwards had the Mike Valle protégé in significant trouble in the third round and again in the waning moments of the match, as he opened a cut on the bridge of his nose with a well-placed elbow strike. Muhammad remained disciplined for the duration, showed no real weaknesses and exited the cage with 10 pounds of gold strapped to his waist. By the time the dust had settled, he had outlanded Edwards by a 192-89 margin and racked up more than 12 minutes of control time.

“I told you so,” Muhammad said afterward. “The people that I have around me, my team, my coaches, we believed in us. I don’t need the world to believe in me. I don’t need anybody to believe in me. We don’t need applause. We know how good we are. We know what we’re capable of doing, and now, we’re world champions.”

Ahead of Muhammad’s looming confrontation with Ian Garry in the UFC Fight Night 265 co-headliner on Saturday at ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar, his upset of Edwards remains one of the top inflection points of his career. Four more worth considering:

Belal Muhammad vs. Steve Carl

Titan Fighting Championship 38
April 30, 2016 | Miami
Muhammad marked himself as a clear person of interest on the regional scene when put away the American Top Team rep with punches, improved to 9-0 as a pro and captured the Titan Fighting Championship welterweight crown in the fourth round of their main event at the Miccosukee Casino. Carl checked out 4:07 into Round 4, suffering his first knockout loss in well over nine years. Muhammad flexed his superiority from the start, as he uncorked accurate strikes on multiple targets and headed off attempted takedowns from his increasingly desperate counterpart. Out of options, Carl was on fumes late in the fourth round. Muhammad stepped on the accelerator, cut loose with punches and prompted the stoppage. He arrived in the UFC a little more than two months later.

Belal Muhammad vs. Vicente Luque

UFC 205
Nov. 12, 2016 | New York
Muhammad showed some rare and unexpected vulnerability when he succumbed to punches from “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 21 graduate in the first round of their welterweight prelim at Madison Square Garden. Luque drew the curtain just 79 seconds into Round 1. He called upon repeated stance switches and broke the ice with a few leg kicks. Muhammad was never afforded the opportunity to gather himself. Luque stepped forward with a kick to the midsection, lured the Duke Roufus disciple into a close-quarters exchange and floored him with a clean left hook. Muhammad hit the canvas in a dazed-and-confused state, at which point he was met with a volley of punches that finished him off. It remains the only knockout defeat of his 29-fight career.

Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady

UFC 280
Oct. 22, 2022 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Muhammad accelerated his rise to contention in the 170-pound weight class when he disposed of the previously unbeaten Daniel Gracie-trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with punches in the second round of their featured prelim at Etihad Arena. The end came 4:47 into Round 2. Brady tried to keep his adversary at bay with leg kicks and counters but never managed to draw the action to the canvas, where his world-class grappling skills might have come into play. Muhammad connected with an overhand right late in the second round, turned up the heat and unleashed a burst of unanswered punches that prompted referee Lukasz Bosacki to call for the stoppage while a visibly compromised Brady was still upright. It was his first finish in more than three years.

Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena

UFC 315
May 10, 2025 | Montreal
Della Maddalena sprang the upset and seized the undisputed welterweight championship with a five-round unanimous decision over the Chicago native in their main event at the Bell Centre. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46. Muhammad chose to stand with the Australian kickboxer for three rounds, foregoing the wrestling-centric approach that made him a champion. Della Maddalena capitalized, leaned into kicks to all levels and let fly with multi-punch combinations to the body and head. Muhammad picked up his pace and appeared to turn a corner in the fourth round, which gave way to an epic final five minutes between them. A close-range knee strike from Della Maddalena opened a gash underneath his counterpart’s left eye. Muhammad answered with a takedown and some ground-and-pound before upping his aggression in the standup once the challenger escaped to his feet. Violent exchanges ensued. Della Maddalena found another gear, unfurled crisp accurate punches and had the champion reeling, though he did not have enough in the tank to procure a finish. Muhammad’s reign atop the division was over after just 287 days.