5 Defining Moments: Belal Muhammad

Belal Muhammad still has his detractors, but no one can argue with the results.

The 36-year-old Roufusport product will defend the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship title for the first time when he faces Jack Della Maddalena in the UFC 315 headliner on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Muhammad finds himself on an 11-fight unbeaten streak during which he has compiled a 10-0 record with one no contest. He has delivered eight of those 10 victories by decision.

As Muhammad sets his sights on his forthcoming battle with Della Maddalena at 170 pounds, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define him:

1. Taste Test

Muhammad marked himself as a clear person of interest on the regional scene when he laid claim to the inaugural Titan Fighting Championship welterweight title with a technical knockout of Steve Carl in the fourth round of their TFC 38 main event on April 30, 2016 at the Miccosukee Casino in Miami. A winner in eight of his previous nine bouts, Carl succumbed to punches 4:07 into Round 4. Muhammad flexed his superiority from the start, as he unleashed accurate strikes and cut off takedown attempts from an increasingly desperate opponent. Carl was on fumes late in the fourth round. There, Muhammad turned up the heat, let fly with punches and forced referee Howard Puig to act. He arrived in the UFC a little more than two months later.

2. Mortal After All

Alan Jouban withstood a furious rally and spoiled Muhammad’s organizational debut when he walked away with a hard-earned unanimous decision in their UFC Fight Night 90 welterweight showcase on July 7, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Scores were 28-27, 29-28 and 29-27. A replacement for the injured Nordine Taleb, the previously unbeaten Muhammad survived three knockdowns to make his presence known. Floored by a left hook and head kick in the first round and a counter left in the second, the Chicago native refused to wilt. Muhammad found a home for his right hand in Round 3, where he smashed his counterpart with hooks, straights and uppercuts while applying maximum pressure with his forward movement. Though he had Jouban ducking for cover at times and retreating at others, the finish he needed never materialized.

3. Power Struggle

Sharp punching combinations and airtight takedown defense carried Geoff Neal to a unanimous decision over Muhammad in a three-round UFC Fight Night 143 undercard battle on Jan. 19, 2019 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Scores were 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27. Operating in the shadows of the Henry Cejudo-T.J. Dillashaw main event, Muhammad enjoyed some success with punches and kicks to the body but could match neither his opponent’s power nor his athleticism. Neal did his best work in the third round. There, he knocked down Muhammad twice, first with a stinging left hand and later with a well-disguised head kick. Neal on both occasions pounced and pounded, and though the finish he sought did not materialize, the Fortis MMA rep had done enough to curry favor with all three judges.

4. Cutting a Path

Muhammad proved his worth in the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division yet again when he disposed of the previously unbeaten Sean Brady with punches in the second round of their featured UFC 280 prelim on Oct. 22, 2022 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The end came 4:47 into Round 2. Brady tried to keep the former Titan Fighting Championship titleholder at bay with leg kicks and counters but never managed to draw the action to the canvas, where his world-class jiu-jitsu skills might have come into play. Muhammad connected with an overhand right late in the second round, hit the accelerator and unleashed a burst of unanswered punches that prompted referee Lukasz Bosacki while a visibly compromised Brady was still upright.

5. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Viewed at times as an unlikely contender, Muhammad reached the top of a very steep mountain when he captured the undisputed welterweight crown with a five-round unanimous decision over Leon Edwards in the UFC 304 headliner on July 27, 2024 in Manchester, England. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46. Muhammad hammered the champion with a troublesome jab and completed nine of his 14 takedown attempts. Nevertheless, Edwards had the Duke Roufus protege in legitimate danger in the third round and again in the waning moments of the fight, as he opened a cut on the Chicago native with a well-placed elbow strike. Muhammad stayed disciplined throughout, showed no real weaknesses and walked out with his hand raised. By the time it was over, he had outlanded Edwards by a 192-89 margin and piled up more than 12 minutes of control time.