Belal Muhammad Pleads Case for Title Shot vs. Kamaru Usman: ‘Give Him New Blood’

Belal Muhammad entered a new tier of welterweight contenders at UFC Fight Night 199, where he earned a convincing unanimous decision victory over former title challenger Stephen Thompson in the evening’s co-main event.

Muhammad is unbeaten in his last seven promotional appearances, and most recent was arguably his best to date, as he grounded “Wonderboy” seven times en route to earning scorecards of 30-25, 30-26 and 30-26 from the cageside judges. It’s a statement victory that Muhammad believes should put him into consideration for a championship opportunity.

“Who’s ever beaten ‘Wonderboy’ 30-26? Who’s ever beaten ‘Wonderboy’ that style? Nobody’s ever beaten him that way,” Muhammad said at the UFC Fight Night 199 post-fight press conference. “‘Wonderboy’s’ fought for the title twice, Demian Maia has fought for the title twice, I beat both of those guys in dominant fashion. So, like, you’re telling me Leon Edwards deserves it over me? He almost got knocked out by Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz didn’t lose that fight, Nate Diaz never loses a fight.”

At the moment, it appears that Edwards nonetheless might be next in line to face reigning champion Kamaru Usman. Edwards faced Usman at UFC on Fox 17 in December 2015, losing a unanimous decision. The Englishman is currently on a 10-fight unbeaten streak that includes a no contest against Muhammad, which occurred due to an accidental eye poke from Edwards that rendered his opponent unable to continue.

“The way I just beat ‘Wonderboy,’ nobody’s ever done that to him,” Muhammad said. “Even Gilbert Burns beat him dominantly, but it wasn’t like that. I deserve that title shot next because — my streak is as long as Leon’s, and Leon’s already lost to Usman, so let’s stop with these rematches, let’s stop with the, ‘Oh, he beat Colby [Covington] twice, he beat [Jorge] Masvidal twice, and now he’s the GOAT.’ No, give him new blood.”

Muhammad is a former Titan Fighting Championships title holder, and he has his sights set on a bigger prize now. With that, he realizes a win over Thompson is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Gold is the goal,” he said. “Beating a guy like ‘Wonderboy’ is not my goal. My goal is to be the world champion in the UFC, and that’s what I’m going to achieve.”