UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad has a wild history of sneaking into sporting events and concerts as a kid. He did something similar back in 2012 during a UFC event just so he could take a photo with Dana White.
Growing up in Chicago, sports was a very vital part of everyday life in the city. The city that saw the likes of Michael Jordan bring 6 Championships to it has always had a kinship to sports, so naturally Muhammad did too. From the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Cubs, the city’s baseball team, the Palestinian-American fighter followed everything.
But back then, he couldn’t afford to buy the tickets to the games so he would just sneak into the venues. In an interview with Grind City Media, Belal revealed how he took the iconic photo of Dana White with himself back in 2012,
“When I was younger I would sneak into so much stuff. Like I would sneak into the Cubs games, I would sneak into the Bulls games….The first UFC fight I ever went to was at the MGM Grand and we went down to the cage area before the fights in the morning.”
Belal and his friends finessed their way into the octagon somehow as the likes of Urijah Faber stood next to them near the octagon.
Credits: IMAGO
They even got in some shadowboxing inside the octagon and he claims to have video evidence of it. But the highlight of that day was getting a picture with the UFC president. Cut down a decade or so later and the Palestinian-American has become the UFC champion and defends it in a couple of month’s time.
And, ‘Remember the Name‘ is looking to make every bit of his reign count as he promises to be an active champion next year.
Belal wants to mimic Poatan consistency
It is no secret that Alex Pereira carried the UFC on his back this year with three title defenses in super quick time, saving multiple fight cards after fighters pulled out at the last minute.
Well, in the same interview with Grind City Media, Belal Muhammad revealed that he is looking to mimic the Brazilian next year with his activity,
“It’s such a small window in this game where you don’t know what tomorrow is gonna hold… in 2025 I’m trying to get on that Alex Pereira schedule.”
Unless one’s a Jon Jones or a Demetrious Johnson, you can only stay at the top for so long. And ‘Remember the Name’ is aware of that. So his plan is to make the most of it while he has the belt around his waist.
He will look to defend it as many times as he can in the year 2025 and give the fans an active champion, unlike his predecessors who wasted the last months of their reigns fighting and giving title shots to Colby Covington.
