Life and time humble everyone. As does former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Just ask UFC’s bantamweight champion, Belal Muhammad. ‘Bully B’ trains at American Kickboxing Academy under Javier Mendez alongside team Khabib and regularly gets beaten by them. But to him, it’s necessary to keep ‘his ego in check’.
In a recent YouTube interview with MMA coach Eric Nicksick, the champion spoke about how humbling it is to roll around with ‘The Eagle’ and his team. He also talks about how they help him by exploiting his weaknesses in the camp and showing him what he needs to work on.
“I mean they help me just by beating me up and it just keeps my ego in check where there’s still stuff to work on. I’ll be on a ten fight winning streak and these guys will sit there and tap me out like it’s nothing.”
Of course, competition with world champions and undefeated ones at that does make one better and it was visible when Belal took on Leon Edwards for the welterweight title in Manchester at UFC 304, winning every round on his way to UFC gold.
And since winning the gold, Belal has been like Ted Lasso’s Roy Kent. He’s here, he’s there he’s every f***ing where! While he does spend a lot of this time calling out literally every person who’s ever doubted him, the champion also makes it a point to credit his teammates for their performances.
Belal almost loses voice cheering for Bahamondes at UFC Noche
The Palestinian-American champion is very tight knit with his team. Although he does not have a very big team, he calls them his family and speaks about how close they are. This was evident when he came to corner his teammate Ignacio Bahamondes for his UFC Noche fight.
Following the fight, in an interview with Aaron Bronsteter, he expressed his joy at the win and got emotional while talking about his team.
“We’re a small team but we’re a family and anytime any of us has a fight we all have a fight. So, to see my brother win like that, high tides raise all ships. Man I’m ecstatic.”
1-on-1 with welterweight champion @bullyb170 after his teammate Ignacio Bahamondes’s big win at #NocheUFC pic.twitter.com/VnO32MmF8Y
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 15, 2024
The champ was clearly loving his role in his teammates corner because he had lost his voice cheering him on. He didn’t have to do much though since Bahamondes got a quick victory in the very first round.
Belal then called him the best striker in the UFC and spoke about how people have not seen how talented he really is yet. With age on his side, Bahamondes is well on his way to becoming a star in the sport, Belal has got something there for sure. Now, only time can tell if Bahamondes can actually keep delivering as consistently as is expected of him.
