Belal Muhammad Turns Haters Into Fans by Calling Out ‘The Best’ Shavkat Rakhmonov

In the UFC it is believed that you’re a legitimate champion when you defend your belt for the first time. Newly crowned champion Belal Muhammad now has the opportunity to stamp his authority by doing just that and he is choosing the biggest threat to his reign, Shavkat Rakhmanov. This has earned him some brownie points from the fans.

During a recent interview, the Palestinian-American fighter stated that he wants to return in November or December.

The 36-year-old wanted to return in October for the PPV even in Abu Dhabi but unfortunately, injuries sustained at UFC 304 will prevent him from doing so.

But when he does return, Belal wants a piece of the boogeyman of the welterweight division, Shavkat Rakhmonov.

‘Nomad’ is a fighter that has been avoided like the plague by many, including Belal’s predecessor Leon Edwards. So when the Palestinian-American chose Rakhmonov, fans couldn’t help but be impressed.

One fan said, “Gotta respect that Belal is wanting to fight the best.”

“Respect Belal for wanting the smoke right away. But am I crazy to say what has Shavkat done to earn a title shot?”– commented a fan.

“Alright belal got my respect”– said another fan.

Another fan added, “Nice, didn’t cherry pick like Dagestanies. Respect.”

“Nice to see a new champion not immediately call for a money fight or talk about moving up”– commented a fan.

So, here we go. Belal wanted to fight everyone and he’s staying true to his word. Maybe, he actually going to be better than GSP when he’s done.

Belal Muhammad; a man of his word

Prior to his fight against Leon Edwards, Belal had a few complaints about Edwards as a champion.

He had stated that Edwards did not fight enough, and when he did he often cherry picked opponents, something he had promised he wouldn’t do when he took the welterweight gold for himself.

The 36-year-old promised that he would take on the biggest and the scariest fights in the division in order to prove himself but also entertain fans at the same time. And he did so. Despite Dana White’s reluctance to compliment on the title fight at UFC 304, Belal really outboxed Edwards, like he had promised.

He pressured the Brit into a corner and beat him and dropped him on his head and kept him down for 4 out of 5 rounds to become the champion. So he’s been a man of his word the entire time.

And these recent events are any indication of the time to come, fans need to buckle up, they might be up for seeing a kind of domination only Khabib Nurmagomedov has been capable of yet.