Belal Muhammad, the reigning welterweight champion, dismisses the idea of Conor McGregor receiving a title shot due to his inactivity and lack of merit, despite McGregor’s star power and ongoing trash talk.
Belal Muhammad is the king of the welterweight division, and he believes his talents extend beyond the octagon.
Though it took him years to earn his shot at the 170-pound belt, Muhammad capitalized dramatically. He outworked Leon Edwards at UFC 304 this past July to become champion.
Now, Muhammad awaits his first title challenger. Possibly the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov or former champion Kamaru Usman. Or maybe both, as Muhammad has playfully suggested.
One name he’s ruling out? UFC superstar Conor McGregor.
McGregor hasn’t fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. This hasn’t stopped speculation that he could leverage his drawing power into an immediate title shot upon return.
Most recently, McGregor was scheduled to fight Michael Chandler in a welterweight bout at UFC 303. Even if that matchup is rebooked, Muhammad doesn’t think McGregor is close to No. 1 contender consideration.
“I don’t think he’ll look good at 170,” Muhammad said about McGregor’s welterweight move in an interview with Submission Radio. “The dude doesn’t look good in life right now."
"He looks like he’s coked out," Muhammad continued. "He looks like he’s on drugs."
"If he beats Michael Chandler, I wouldn’t even let him skip the line," Muhammad added. "There are guys that work for it. There are guys that got here."
"And then even with the last fight with Colby [Covington] skipping the line for Leon," Muhammad said. "I would never do that because there are guys actually putting in the work."
"For legacy-wise, obviously I would want to slap Conor around," he admitted. "But there would be too much for it not to happen, right?"
"It took him this long to fight this fight," Muhammad stated. "It took him this long to make this fight happen with Chandler."
"So for them to even think that ‘Conor’s going to fight for the welterweight belt,’ then I gotta sit here and wait two years," Muhammad said emphatically. "No, it’s not going to happen."
"I’ll give it to the guys that are actually fighting," he insisted. "Guys that are actually putting the work in and guys that deserve it."
"Conor doesn’t deserve it," Muhammad asserted. "I hope he fights Chandler because I feel bad for Chandler, that Chandler waited this long for it."
"So I hope that fight actually happens," he concluded. "But honestly, I don’t think it happens.”
The welterweight division has seen a surge of promising contenders. Rakhmonov, Jack Della Maddalena, and Ian Machado Garry are among them.
Plus, a handful of fighters aren’t far off from entering the top-10 such as Joaquin Buckley and Michael Morales.
That’s a long list of names to skip over. And that’s assuming McGregor and Muhammad’s timelines ever line up.
McGregor’s inactivity hasn’t stopped him from hurling insults at fellow fighters on social media. Recently, he’s also brought his popularity to the big screen with a starring role in Road House.
Should his box-office muscle convince the UFC to grant him a title shot upon return? Muhammad welcomes the opportunity to silence McGregor on the microphone.
“I want that interaction because I want guys that go back and forth,” Muhammad said. “It’s funner for me when guys talk."
"When Kamaru’s talking, it’s fun," he explained. "I love going back and forth because I love trash talking."
"I love hearing it and then it makes the fight more exciting for me," he added.
"When guys are the nicest guys in the world, there’s nothing I can say," Muhammad admitted. "I wouldn’t even want to fake it where I’m talking trash to them."
"You can’t talk trash to ‘Wonderboy’ [Stephen Thompson]. You can’t talk trash to Demian Maia," Muhammad pointed out.
"For me, those types of fights are exciting," he said. "Those types of fights would be fun.”
“Conor’s lost his edge in the trash talk game right now,” Muhammad commented.
"Even with his last couple of fights with [Poirier], it was just like, ‘Bro, what the… this is Conor?’"
"It’s like a fake version of Conor now," he observed.
"It would be fun to embarrass him on the mic,” Muhammad concluded with a smirk.