Considering both his stellar ten-fight winning streak and the incredibly impressive nature of his performance in winning the UFC welterweight title, Belal Muhammad could very well be one of the best fighters to ever compete at 170 pounds.
However, 'Remember the Name' is also one of the perceived 'least popular' champions out there, consistently being put down and criticized by the wider MMA community for what many consider to be a 'boring' fighting style – his veteran coach, Louis Taylor , fires back.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Belal Muhammad's coach defends the 'most hated' UFC champion
On the one hand, 75% of Belal Muhammad's professional MMA wins have come via decision-making; on the other hand, he has left countless world-class fighters in his wake, including Sean Brady, Stephen Thompson, Gilbert Burns, Vicente Luque and Leon Edwards.
While there's certainly no shortage of MMA fans who think Muhammad snoozed his way into the UFC title picture, there's also an argument that those fans are just bitter because he consistently beats their favorite fighters.
Speaking to Parry Punch's Jacob Castro, that was the case that coach Louis Taylor was keen to make – firstly by recognizing that professional fighters see Mohammed very differently to the wider fanbase.
“I mean, unfortunately the MMA community has taken it upon itself to make Belal one of the most hated – or they want to say boring – but Belal is only boring to people who don't understand it or have a high fighting IQ .
“Real fighters love Belal, real champions always want to pick his brain, his phone is always ringing with some of the best champions because they understand how hard he works and how he breaks down so many great fighters, and makes them look weak and soft, past their peak.”
It's easy to get behind slick strikers who score vicious knockouts, and while Taylor knows Muhammad isn't a “viral finish” type of fighter, he understands there are multiple ways to achieve world championship success. And that's all that really matters.
“They need to understand that Belal is not a Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robot type fighter; he's a high IQ fighter and he's also a pressure fighter, it's not like he sits back and tries to snipe, he's [always] come forward.
“People don't want to call it what it really is because he consistently makes the people who bet against him pay a high price. If you just put your money on Belal Muhammad, you would be a very happy camper.”
Muhammad has emerged as the betting underdog in each of his last five fights and despite winning them all in impressive fashion, Taylor believes any reaction from the fans is simply to ignore the writing on the wall.
“You see what you want to see, but the results have spoken [for themselves]. He may not have finished everyone, but he's always come close to the finish in every fight he's had…People don't want to give credit where it's due because he consistently beats their favorite fighters.”
Mohammed is expected to return to action sometime before the summer after an injury forced him to pull out of his UFC 310 main event fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov.
According to manager Ali Abdelaziz, that fight is now aimed at May 2025.
“I think he will fight in May; this is what we are looking at,” he told MMA Junkie.
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