Belal Muhammad has a list of opponents in his mind to cement his status as a top welterweight of his era. But surprisingly, Colby Covington’s name isn’t on that list! Muhammad will be taking on current 170 lbs king, Leon Edwards in his first-ever attempt at undisputed UFC gold on July 27 at UFC 304. Riding high on a 10-fight win streak, Muhammad has prior history with Edwards as their first clash in 2021 ended in a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke from ‘Rocky’.

But why doesn’t he want to fight Colby Covington, a former interim welterweight champion? In a recent interview with ‘The Schmo’, Muhammad revealed that he has his sights on current stars like Shavkat Rakhmonov as he claimed that ‘Chaos’ may need to leave his gloves in the center of the Octagon soon!

Belal Muhammad proclaims Colby Covington no longer relevant in the welterweight division  

During his interview with ‘The Schmo’ on his YouTube channel, Belal Muhammad was asked to share his thoughts on which fighter in the welterweight division he wants to see stand across him inside the cage if he becomes a champion after UFC 304. Muhammad stated, “I mean, honestly, for me, it’s like everybody’s obviously hyping up Shavkat, I don’t know. They were talking about him and JDM (Jack Della Maddalena), but my thing right now is to be the best welterweight to ever do it right…”.

Rakhmonov is currently ranked no.3 in the division, and sandwiched between him and Della Maddalena, who holds the number 5 spot, is Colby Covington. When further pressed about Covington’s next fight, since ‘Chaos’ has been out of action since his UFC 296 loss against Edwards in a title clash, Muhammad bluntly stated, “Honestly, Colby Covington just needs to retire. There’s really nothing left for him like he’s still trying to attach his glory days, 3 or 4 years ago when they thought he was good.”

‘Remember the Name’, as he’s also known went on to reveal that his nickname is not just a throwaway title, but his goal for his career. The welterweight title contender stated, “When my career is all said and done, I want to be the guy that beat every single great guy in my era. Every guy that they thought would beat me, I want to walk through them all.”

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Covington as he has been involved in an ongoing feud with another rising welterweight contender, Ian Garry, with shots being fired from both sides with no fight being set up as of now. In the meanwhile, Muhammad has got his eyes set on the challenge he faces at UFC 304 but he’s channeled Conor McGregor to make a prediction for the title clash between him and ‘Rocky’!

Muhammad predicts outcome of UFC 304 with the ‘Mystic Mac’ spirit  

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Belal Muhammad claimed that the UFC, fans, and analysts are all becoming disenchanted with Leon Edwards’s title reign. Since winning the title from Kamaru Usman at UFC 286, ‘Rocky’ has only defended the belt once against ‘Chaos’ at UFC 296 in 2023.

This hasn’t sat well with Muhammad who stated, “But that’s the guy Leon is. He’s not an active champion. He’s very hard to deal with.” With their previous history and Muhammad out to etch his name in the history books, he also revealed that he is looking to take over the ‘Mystic’ title from Conor McGregor with his performance in the fight! Muhammad went on to proclaim, “Honestly I think I’m going to rock him really early, and then I’m going to take him down… Then I’m going to finish him in the second round. You can call me ‘Mystic Muhammad.’”

As the MMA sphere gets ready to witness this crucial clash between two elite welterweights, Belal Muhammad is set to make a statement at UFC 304 with a win having the potential to reshape the landscape of the UFC’s welterweight division! Do you think Belal Muhammad will be able to end Leon Edwards’s reign? What’s next for Colby Covington? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!