Belal Muhammad has done quite well for himself despite being labeled as the most hated UFC fighter among the fans. After years of making the climb up the ranks, he finally got his due last year when he took the welterweight title from Leon Edwards at UFC 304. Muhammad’s rise to a champion fighter is nothing less than inspirational, as he seemed to have impressed an icon of his division, Jorge Masvidal.

Like his teammate Islam Makhachev, Muhammad is also in the hunt for a simultaneous second title glory, which seems to have become a norm for any UFC fighter after Conor McGregor made that happen for the first time in UFC history. But is the Palestinian-American capable of achieving that feat? Maybe he can because Jorge Masvidal claims that from the time when he first saw Muhammad, he’s grown significantly as a top world-class fighter. This is surprising as the former BMF champ’s initial opinion about the 170lbs gold standard wasn’t very high.

“I’ve seen Belal since his first fight. I was there live-in, I think it was in Chicago, right before he got signed to the UFC. I remember looking at him [and] going like, ‘Ah, not a bad guy’. Maybe one day he’ll be like top 10 or 15 guy,” Jorge Masvidal stated on the JAXXON PODCAST. “I see him again, I was like, ‘Oh, this improved a lot’. Beaten a lot of guys and then he had a couple of losses and I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know if you come back from those.’ [But] Bro, did he f—ing come back and evolve? Like, man, what a 180 f—ing switch.”

Despite lacking the kind of athletic capability like some of his peers and rivals, Muhammad got props from ‘Gamebred’ for his relentless demeanor and ability to keep fighting the entire 25 minutes, given that wrestling, which is his forte, takes up a lot of energy. “He’s not the best athlete, he doesn’t have the most athleticism or the greatest technique, but brother, everything he does, he does well. He doesn’t get f—ing tired, he can wrestle with anyone,” Masvidal further stated.

Although Masvidal gave a huge shout-out to Belal Muhammad, he believes there’s one big challenge ‘Remember the Name’ has in front of him. What’s that challenge? Well, let’s find out what the former BMF champion had to say.

Jorge Masvidal reveals the biggest challenge for Belal Muhammad

If there’s anyone who’s deemed the boogeyman of the 170-pound division, it’s not Belal Muhammad, even though he’s won ten fights in a row. You might have guessed it, as it’s Kazakh star Shavkat Rakhmonov. Until his last fight against Ian Garry, which was his first decision win, ‘Nomad’ had been running through his opponents and finishing all eighteen of them. Nevertheless, he’s still a force to be reckoned with, and beating him would seal the deal for Muhammad, according to Jorge Masvidal.

“He’s really becoming a f—ing problem. I just think Shavkat might be like, a tough fight for him. If he could beat Shavkat that’ll be f—ing real impressive man,” Jorge Masvidal added. Well, Rakhmonov is next in line for a title shot, and it will be interesting to see whose wrestling works dominantly when he steps inside the Octagon with the 170lbs champ.

The welterweight champion plans to make his return right after Ramadan for his first title defense and yes, he wants to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov. How that fight will go? That remains to be seen, but in the meantime, share with us your thoughts in the comments down below.