Ian Garry Feels UFC Champ Belal Muhammad Is Underrated and Disrespected Despite His Fight Success

Despite having already defeated almost every contender in the welterweight division on his way to winning the title, Belal Muhammad is often criticized as a ‘boring’ fighter. However, rising star Ian Garry sees things differently. 

Belal has an impressive 24-3-0 (1 NC) record in his UFC career but only two of those 24 wins have come via finishes. But that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t dominated the division since his debut in 2016. Case in point, his championship fight against Leon Edwards at UFC 304 saw him lift the title. Belal toyed with Edwards and even dropped him on his head after what was a year of personal callouts. 

 This is the reason Garry believes that the champion is highly underrated and unfairly disrespected despite his accomplishments. 

However, while speaking to Brett Okamoto, the #7 ranked fighter also claimed that Belal wouldn’t be able to win if they were to fight it out inside the octagon. 

“You have to give Belal the credit where credit is due. I think he is phenomenal at what he does, but what he does is try and put people in a pressure cooker and break them. I am unbreakable.”

Garry also added that both Shavkat Rakhmonov and he would do a very good job of absorbing pressure and getting the job done. Both Garry and Rakhmonov are good strikers with a decent ground game. While that may not be enough, they do possess unique movements that could pose some serious challenges for the champion. 

However, if you were to ask Belal, he would disagree

Belal Muhammad provides an update on his injury 

 The UFC welterweight champion was forced to withdraw from his first title defense against Rakhmonov at UFC 310 due to a nasty bone infection. In his absence, Garry stepped in to face the undefeated Rakhmonov, with the winner likely earning a shot at the 170-pound belt in early 2025.

But Belal is as prepared as they come. Having spent over a year trying to get the title shot despite being the #1 contender, the Palestinian-American fighter studied his opponent’s every move, every action, and their reaction to it to prepare himself. To believe he won’t do that again would be a fallacy.

While announcing his return to the octagon, the champion shared his opinion on what would happen if he were to fight Rakhmonov or Garry and said,

“My unbiased breakdown: I break both of them.”

Regardless of what might come to pass when he returns to the octagon, neither Garry nor Rakhmonov should expect an easy fight. Because despite the boring claims, Belal has won almost every fight he has ever been in and that’s all you need to retain the title.