Newly crowned UFC welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad earned himself an OG fan in actor Joey Diaz after winning the welterweight title from Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in Manchester. Diaz recently appeared on the 3500th episode of MMA Junkie Radio, where he proudly claimed the Palestinian-American champion as his favorite fighter. The champion, of course, had a sweeter response.
Saying that Belal has impressed him, Diaz claimed that he has been following his career and has always bet on him. Asserting that he loves Belal, Diaz added:
“Belal. Oh, that’s my dawg, he’s my heart. I knew he was going to be a champion the first time I saw him fight and when he fought the last time I f**king knew he was going to win. I love that guy, he’s a clean fighter, very disciplined you know… That motherf**ker will take care of everything.”
Belal then, took to Twitter to thank the Spider-Man 2 actor.
Thankyou unc ❤️❤️ @madflavor https://t.co/GnwmmEk9rf
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) September 26, 2024
Diaz has been a fan of the sport for years now, and nowhere has it been more evident than all the time he’s spent on Joe Rogan’s podcast talking about it. So, he knows what he’s talking about. And it’s the sign of a true fan when they can come out, watch a wrestling dominant fighter go on for 25 minutes and are able to appreciate the craft of it all.
Besides, the way he has put his faith is Belal to take care of it all is just too sweet. And that’s exactly what the Palestinian-American champion plans on do for his first title defense.
Belal picks Shavkat over Usman
Since Belal won the belt, former champion, Kamaru Usman has been calling him out relentlessly on social media. Belal being Belal has also responded in kind, generating the kind of the heat that would sell tickets for a PPV with their names on it. However, Usman is on a 3-fight losing streak, and given his status as a veteran and the wear and tear on his knees, it’s common knowledge that his time in the sport is coming to a grim end.
So Usman is not the name Belal has on his mind for his first title defense. During an exclusive with Kevin Iole, the UFC welterweight champion revealed his thoughts on why he’d rather face the undefeated Kazakh, Shavkat Rakhmonov instead of Usman.
“I’d rather have it to be Shavkat. I think he has more aura; I think he has the undefeatedness to him. There’s no excuse after beating him… Usman’s on a 3-fight losing streak, he’s old, he’s on his way out. I think he needs another win.”
A victory over Rakhmonov will erase all doubts anyone has in mind about his credibility with the UFC gold on the line. And so to Belal, who has openly claimed to have wanted to be known as the greatest welterweight of all time, this is the fight to make and this is the man to beat.
