Belal Muhammad’s latest achievement may also be the one responsible for his downfall according to fans. The ‘UFC Cover Curse’ is when a fighter makes the cover of the EA-based game, they lose their very next fight. In the past, the likes of Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, Israel Adesanya, Jorge Masvidal, and Valentina Shevchenko have all been a victim of the so-called curse.
With Muhammad making the latest cover, fans fear for him.
The UFC welterweight champion recently posted a picture of the new UFC 5 cover on which he features.
And fans got nostalgic!
“UFC 5 Cover Curse. We’re so Back!!”
UFC 5 Cover Curse. We’re so Back!! pic.twitter.com/72vgtm7Tra
— Icy Trea (@Icy7Trea) August 23, 2024
This fan predicts that Belal will lose his first title defense on account of the ‘Cover Curse’,
“Loses first title defense”
Loses first title defense
— theotherguy170 (@theotheguy420) August 23, 2024
Another fan congratulated the champ on his achievement but gave him a word of warning since he was aware of the so-called curse,
“Congratulations but also…Be careful, I hear that’s a curse.”
Congratulations but also…
Be careful, I hear that’s a curse.
.— Carbazel MMA (@Carbazel) August 23, 2024
This fan was confident that Belal would be the latest fighter to fall victim to the UFC cover curse,
“Cover curse incoming”
Cover curse incoming
— ᴊxᴋᴇᴍᴍᴀ (@jxkemma) August 23, 2024
One fan seemed rather excited to see that Belal had made the cover, meaning he was next to face the ‘cover curse’,
“cover curse is coming belal WKWKWKW”
cover curse is coming belal WKWKWKW https://t.co/L3GrgsvNXP
— muggle (@chaposucksss) August 23, 2024
Another fan was distraught to see that the Palestinian-American fighter may be in line for the cover curse as he voiced his disappointment,
“NOOOOOOOOO BELAL THE COVER CURSE”
NOOOOOOOOO BELAL THE COVER CURSE pic.twitter.com/QbRBAmr5dv
— dame margera (@damienfarronMMA) August 23, 2024
After seeing all the comments talking about the curse, the champ decided to clear the air and revealed that it was a one-of-one piece and wasn’t being sold to the public.
Besides, he has bigger things to worry about than the UFC cover right now as he looks to secure his first title defense before the end of the year.
Belal’s first title defense in December
Belal Muhammad wants to make the welterweight division great again. He has often accused Leon Edwards of picking and choosing opponents like Colby Covington when he was the champion. But the Palestinian-American fighter doesn’t want to be that kind of a champion.
He has already declared his intention to fight the best in the division and give opportunities to whoever deserves it and as such, his first title defense takes place on the last card of the year.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie he revealed that he wants to fight in December next,
“So hopefully if I get into the last card of the year in December that’d be great for me…I doubt McGregor’s even fighting. So if they need somebody for that, I’ll be their Alex Pereira to step up.”
Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) hopes the #UFC calls for a December fight
“I doubt McGregor’s even fighting. So if they need somebody for that, I’ll be their Alex Pereira to step up.”
Interview via @MMAJunkieGeorge, @thegoze: https://t.co/AtF16zNzlS pic.twitter.com/0QMsFzjwEF
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) August 23, 2024
The champ has been beefing with former champion Kamaru Usman but it would seem that Shavkat Rakhmonov might have the first shot at his title since he’s currently the biggest threat in the division.