Belal Muhammad is set to face Gilbert Burns in UFC 288’s co-main event on short notice and believes a win will secure him the welterweight division’s No. 1 contender status.
Belal Muhammad should be the No. 1 contender in the welterweight division by just about every possible metric available. He’s riding a nine-fight unbeaten streak, with his last four wins all coming against ranked opponents, including a stunning knockout of highly-touted prospect Sean Brady in his most recent outing. Muhammad also has the second-longest win streak in the division, behind only reigning UFC champion Leon Edwards.
Despite all of that, Muhammad, currently No. 6 at 170 pounds, seemingly wasn’t even in consideration for a title shot after Edwards vanquished ex-champion Kamaru Usman in their trilogy bout this past March. UFC President Dana White quickly announced that opportunity will go to Colby Covington instead. Muhammad was understandably irate, but after lodging several very public complaints, he decided to just let it all go and get back to work. This decision led him to face Gilbert Burns in UFC 288’s co-main event on just two weeks’ notice, opting to let his résumé speak for itself.
“This is the fight where the fans will say it for me,” Muhammad explained on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I’ve had so many people come to my defense — ‘How are you going to pass up this guy?’ — and I’m always appreciative of all the fans and the people that got my back. But I was sitting there and I’m like, ‘I’m not going to say anything.’ I [decided to start] calling for the next-best guy. I’m calling for Kamaru Usman, waiting to see if that fight happens. I’m calling to see if Gilbert wants to fight. I’m calling to see if Colby wants to fight.”
Muhammad is letting go of the anger and frustration over Covington receiving the next title shot and instead keeping his full attention on his own career, which is all he can really control anyway. In fact, he offered to step into the co-main event at UFC 288 without any promised concessions from the promotion. Muhammad decided to take it one step further when he made his one request for the fight: He wanted five rounds to work, a wish that was granted and accepted by Burns as well.