‘Stop Yapping’: After Canelo Alvarez Comparison, Belal Gives Himself the ‘Alex Pereira’ Tag, Invites Trolls

Belal Muhammad is still riding the wave after claiming his first title in the UFC last July. Belal proved his worth with a measured domination of reigning UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards at UFC 304. While being thoroughly dominant on the ground helped him win the welterweight crown, Belal grabbed headlines with the now-infamous ‘Canelo hands’ comment.

Now, as he plans to defend the 170 lbs for the very first time next week at UFC 315 against Jack Della Maddalena, the Palestinian-American fighter has once again compared himself to the undisputed super middleweight boxing champion.

“I’m going to show him [Della Maddalena] the meaning of Canelo hands… I’m going to show the UFC fighters, the fans that I’m the best boxer in the UFC, the best boxer in the welterweight division. Trust me, you guys wanna tune in. Don’t miss it,“ he said.

Dripping with self-assuredness heading into his first title defense, Belal isn’t just content with downing rising star Jack Della Maddalena; he wants to be the UFC’s go-to fighter. For his latest claim, the Welterweight Champion is comparing himself to a certain Brazilian light heavyweight.

“I want to be that guy that the UFC can count on me, and look at me, and be like, ‘We got Pereira Jr. right here,'” declared Belal in a video posted to Twitter.

Belal’s self-inflating UFC 315 press run, as well as his extensive gap between fights, proved too much for one X user. The user, named OWON, called for Belal to “stop yapping and fight“.

Perhaps OWON is angered by the comparisons to Canelo – after all, there was little in the Edwards bout to suggest that Belal is the UFC’s biggest hitter.

The victory was another exercise in control, but it was also the continuation of a clear pattern. The nature of the win failed to turn the tide of Belal’s lowly three stoppages in 19 UFC fights.

At least OWON only has to wait until Saturday to see if Belal has developed these ‘Canelo hands’ in the long break between fights.

Twitter user Elonov also commented on the champion’s lack of finishes in the octagon and said, “He might be the only champion that we don’t mind being inactive“. Another reiterated the sentiment and claimed, “Canelo hands… Alex Pereira Junior… this guy has 0 aura and charisma! What a disgrace for the sport!

On top of that, critics have questioned the lack of killer instinct in Belal’s arsenal. He seems content to lean on his cardio and preservation when the going gets tough.

Meanwhile, Maddalena, a solid striker with an impressive 14 finishes from 17 victories, Della Maddalena still holds a 100% win rate in the UFC since his 2022 debut, making a section of fans openly rooting for the Aussie to win against the incumbent

On the other hand, with just over nine months since his title triumph to make his first title defense against the rising star Jack Della Maddalena, the Pereira statement sounds more boastful than anything else.

Belal addresses 9-month gap in action

BeBelal was seemingly ready to defend as soon as possible but the pieces failed to fall into place.

“Once I got the title I’m like, ‘Let’s do a quick turnaround.’ It was gonna be four months and then I was ready to fight Shavkat [Rhakmonov]. Then we caught the injury and then it was six weeks of doing absolutely nothing,” he noted.

Belal was expected to defend his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC at the end of last year but had to opt out due to a broken toe. Months later, he found that his to-be opponent, Rakhmonov had also pulled out of the fight to recover from an undisclosed injury.

“Right back into training and I was like, ‘Well, I feel good,’ then Ramadan happened so I was like, ‘Well, May works perfectly,'” explained Belal, outlining the extensive list of hurdles he’s faced in the last eight months.