Belal Muhammad emerged victorious after 25 minutes of hard-fought action at UFC 288, extending his unbeaten streak to 10 straight bouts.
Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns aimed to establish themselves as the next welterweight contenders at UFC 288. Muhammad had been campaigning for months for the UFC to either give him a title shot or a fight against a high-profile name. Before facing Burns, “Remember the Name” defeated Sean Brady in a violent fashion and earned victories over big names such as Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson, and Demian Maia.
On the other hand, Burns has been one of the UFC’s most active fighters. Heading into UFC 288, “Durinho” secured wins over Jorge Masvidal in March and Neil Magny in January. After 25 minutes of intense action, it was Muhammad who came out on top, extending his unbeaten streak to ten consecutive bouts.
A variety of reactions flooded in from Muhammad’s fellow fighters following his win at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. Conor McGregor tweeted, “That was a very poor bout. Piss poor.” Sodiq Yusuff expressed confusion, asking, “Wtf are they booing belal.” Alan Jouban praised Muhammad, saying, “Belal going heal to build for the title fight! #UFC288.” Javid Basharat also commended Muhammad’s performance, noting, “I don’t think people understand what @bullyb170 it’s did. Incredible. Off the couch basically after Ramadan on short notice and just beat one of the best fighters in the division. Give him a full camp he becomes the champ InshaAllah #ufc288.”