‘Khabib 2.0’: Belal Muhammad Compared to GSP, Nurmagomedov, and Usman After Win Over Leon Edwards

Allan Binoy | 28/07/2024
'Khabib 2.0': Belal Muhammad Compared to GSP, Nurmagomedov, and Usman After Win Over Leon Edwards

It would seem all the time spent training with Team Khabib has paid off for Belal Muhammad. The American put on a wrestling masterclass against Leon Edwards to secure the UFC welterweight title.

Not only did he go into the fight as the underdog, he was also fighting in front of a hostile home crowd. Despite all this, he put on a performance of a lifetime, dominating Edwards for 4 out of the 5 rounds. This dominant performance has got fans in awe.

Needless to say, the comparisons to former champions have already started, with the most obvious ones being one being Belal compared to Nurmagomedov, given both their high pressure wrestling styles.

“Belal Muhammad is Khabib 2.0 that wrestling is insane”

 

This fan does not think Muhammad is going to lose the belt anytime soon with the dominant ground game he displayed at UFC 304,

“And belal Muhammad looked like prime khabib. Dont see him losing that belt anytime soon with wrestling like that”

 

Yet another fan compared the American to ‘The Eagle’ for the way he was able to take Edwards down and keep him there so easily,

“That’s a Khabib-like performance for Belal Muhammad. Don’t care about the last strikes for Leon. He needed a 10-8 for a tie and a finish to win.”

 

This fan even went as far as calling ‘Remember The Name’, the modern day Khabib,

“Congratulations The modern day Khabib Belal Muhammad #ufc304”

 

One fan came out with a controversial opinion, stating Muhammad in his prime could beat Georges St-Pierre and Kamaru Usman,

“Belal Muhammad beats GSP and prime Usman #ufc”

 

Despite fan’s opinion about not seeing Belal losing that title anytime soon, the hype behind Muhammad’s performance, Edwards believes he deserves another shot at the American.

 Rocky calls for an immediate rematch

UFC 304 was supposed to be the homecoming of the prom king. The UFC Welterweight champion wanted to defend his belt on home soil. The crowd was baying for blood and Belal Muhammad was ripe for the sacrifice. But Belal, like Palestinians just never gives up. It’s something in the soil, one wonders.

He ragdolled the champion for 4 out of 5 rounds and won the fight easily. He was so dominant that at 0ne point it appeared that Edwards had forgotten how to be a striker.

However, despite losing his belt, ‘Rocky’ had only one thing on his mind,

“All week I’ve been feeling tired from the timing but congrats to Belal he got the job done and we’ll get it back again.”

 

Edwards is looking to return to the octagon once more before the end of the year. He will look to secure that welterweight title rematch at the time.

However, it will be up to the champion, who he wants to fight next. Afterall, Edwards practically dismissed fighting Belal for a very long time!

Post Edited By: Smrutisnat Jena
Belal Muhammad Georges ST-Pierre Khabib Nurmagomedov

About the author

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Allan Binoy

Allan Binoy is a MMA journalist at The SportsRush. Taken to the sport in 2015, thanks to a certain Conor McGregor, Allan has himself dabbled in the martial arts. And having graduated from Loyola College, Chennai, with a degree in English Literature, he has learnt to use his love for language to have a voice in the MMA community. Allan has been writing about the gladiatorial stories for more than three years now and has pursued excellence at a number of reputable media organizations, covering every UFC PPV in the last couple of years. In addition to this, the southpaw is also a semi-professional soccer player for Diego Juniors FC in Pune, playing in the Pune Super Division League.

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