Belal Muhammad reveals how he went from a potential main event fight at UFC London against Khamzat Chimaev to a rematch with Vicente Luque.
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Belal Muhammad was one of the fighters on the entire UFC rally calling out the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev – and it turned out he almost got his wish.
After hitting Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson for a hat-trick to erase his undefeated seven fights, Muhammad got the call he wanted and the opportunity to put forward a UFC London card.
Belal Muhammad willing to fight Khamzat Chimaev on London Main card:
“It is crazy because maybe three or four weeks after my fight, [my boss] Ali [Abdelaziz] called me and said,‘ They are giving Khamzat in London as a major event, ’and I said,‘ Let’s go. , put it on, ‘”Muhammad revealed to MMA Fighting. “You say,‘ Are you sure you’re down? He’s Number 11, ’and [I said] I want that fight, let’s go. He said, ‘Okay, but don’t say anything yet.’
“After three or four days, I keep texting my family, checking tickets for London and preparing to book, and [I said] do nothing until we get a contract because you never know. . ”
It turned out that Muhammad’s family was wise to avoid booking any flights or hotel rooms in London, because that was when Muhammad received another call that put the Chimaev war in jeopardy.
“Suddenly they called me and said, ‘We have a few problems,'” said Muhammad. “‘ Gilbert [Burns] and Vicente [Luque] are really good friends and will never fight, so we have a problem, so it will be something between you three. It’s you, Gilbert, Luque and Khamzat, ’who want to compare us to the three in some way.
So you are like, ‘Of these three, which one do you want the most?’ I want Khamzat. That’s what I really want. You get a lot of fun beating up a guy like that even though he’s not on top of the list, and especially with the opportunity to be the talk of the town at O2, I think that would be great. ”
As Muhammad felt strong against Chimaev, the UFC had to look at the big picture in the welterweight division with Gilbert Burns and Vicente Luque who are close friends who repeatedly say they will not face each other.
Because there were so many options available, Muhammad soon realized that he would probably not get Chimaev’s army no matter how badly he wanted it. Instead, Muhammad is now scheduled to fight Luque in the main event of the upcoming UFC APEX event in Las Vegas on April 16th.
“Suddenly it was as if I was going to fight Gilbert, Luque was going to fight Khamzat,” said Muhammad. “It would have been okay, whatever, Gilbert [put] number 2. Then two days later it was, ‘OK, you’m against Luque,’ and I said, ‘Send me a contract, I don’t care.’
“Obviously, I get a lot out of fighting any of these three guys. They’re all tough tests anyway, so I don’t care which one of these three. Let’s just go. He said, ‘OK, it will be Luque,’ so I’m sure. ”
Muhammad Callout:
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The History between the two:
Muhammad is certainly keen to face Luque after losing knockout to the UFC 205 back in 2016. However, that did not satisfy Muhammad’s thirst when it came to a possible tournament with Chimaev. Given Chimaev’s keen attention since joining the UFC, Muhammad knows the Chechen-born welterweight is in contention for the title and may need one more win to secure a shot from reigning champion Kamaru. Usman.
“If I beat Luque and [Chimaev] go out there and beat Gilbert, they will give him the title,” Muhammad said. “If I go out and beat Gilbert and then beat Luque, they will give him the title Shot.
“I do not want to miss her in any way, let me go straight to her. Fight the guy everyone wants to see him fight [Kamaru] Usman next and they all gossip. I’m the same, I’d better just fight that person next time. “
Although he did not dismiss Chimaev as an opponent, Muhammad is still very happy to claim a UFC card for the second time in his career while hoping to avenge the loss of his resume at the same time.
Defeating Luque will still be huge, but Muhammad cannot deny that beating Chimaev would be satisfactory again.
“Khamzat is a young man talking rubbish – Luque is very nice,” Muhammad said with a laugh. “Luque even helped me a few times with my ‘Wonderboy’ war. Sadela.
“It would be [very exciting] to be built with Khamzat, however, I am very happy to fight a guy like Luque, number 4, who is in a big competition, who is going to win big against him. [Michael] Chiesa, a young man who took part in the title fight when Colby [Covington] and Usman fought. So obviously the UFC thinks a lot about him. ”
“I do not consider it a repetition,” Muhammad said. “I take it as a new war because I am a new person. That is why I wanted this war, to prove that I am a new fighter and a different fighter. It will be a completely different battle. So obviously I have something to gain from this battle.
“If I go out and finish [Luque] off and beat him up, there is no denying it. Even when I beat [Demian] Maia, they said he was old. When I hit ‘Wonderboy,’ everyone said he was older.”
It seems the duo will definitely clash in the future to be term as the new contender for the division.
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