Imagine you’re the newly crowned welterweight champion in the UFC and aren’t allowed to get into the Octagon for a face-off by the security. Embarrassing, right? Well, that’s exactly how Belal Muhammad must have felt when he was stopped from entering the cage to face off against Shavkat Rakhmonov following the main event of UFC 310. But Joe Rogan was clear regarding his opinion on the Palestinian champion. “Belal Muhammad is the most underappreciated champ in UFC.” But is Rogan’s opinion strong enough to convince Ilia Topuria that Muhammad can be an entertaining fighter? 

Needless to say, fight fans demand action. And when the fights incline a bit too much towards the wrestling side (especially when fighters struggle to stay in a dominant position without really securing a submission win), things apparently become a bit boring. That’s how most of Muhammad’s fights proceed. Jack Della Maddalena, prior to his showdown against ‘Remember The Name’ at UFC 315, pointed out that Muhammad has a boring fighting style. He’s definitely good at holding people down and claiming wins. But that simply isn’t enough to entertain the fighting community. But the JRE host had a different opinion. 

On episode #166 of the JRE MMA Show, Joe Rogan and ‘la Leyenda’ discussed Muhammad. Rogan said, “Belal, I think, gets to much bad rep. Like Belal, when he beat up Sean Brady, that was very entertaining. And Sean Brady is very good.” Of course, Brady’s record of 18-1 (win-loss) shows how Muhammad took his undefeated status with a round-two KO in UFC 280. Rogan continued, “I think Belal just does what it takes to win. And also, like, he didn’t really have a background in wrestling at the level that a lot of these guys did. He had to develop that over time.” 

However, the former featherweight champion didn’t really like the way Muhammad won his bouts. According to him, there were two types of champions in the sport—those who prepared for the win and those who prepared for domination. And that’s where Ilia Topuria claimed that he was better than ‘Remember The Name.’ He said, “I prepare myself not to win, because I know that I’m going to win. I wanna win in fashion, I wanna dominate, I wanna maul people. I want people to be entertained.” He continued, “I want people to be like, ‘Wow, I’m happy that I spend the money this Saturday night going watch this guy.’ That’s what I want.” After all, entertaining the fight fans is of utmost importance for the fighters.  

Nevertheless, the 57-year-old podcaster has already cast his vote in favor of Belal. In short, he doesn’t seem to understand the hatred for Muhammad. Let’s take a look at the time when Rogan defended the welterweight champion at the JRE studio. 

Joe Rogan stands strong for Belal Muhammad

Rogan and Muhammad had an interaction on episode #162 of the JRE MMA Show. Therein, the UFC color commentator praised the first-ever Palestinian UFC champion. He said, “The champ is here. Everybody has to shut the f— up now…There were so many doubters. So many naysayers, so many people didn’t want you to get that title shot, it was so unfair, dude. It was really wild. It was wild to see…’Cause I’m like, ‘Are you guys not watching his fight? Like, what the f— are you guys seeing?’ I do not understand when people don’t appreciate excellence.”

The 57-year-old even put the spotlight on Muhammad’s rematch against Leon Edwards at UFC 304. It was a bout that showed how ‘Remember The Name’ put immense pressure on his opponents. As soon as the bout began, Muhammad pounced on ‘Rocky,’ and that impressed Rogan. No doubt, the JRE host was left awestruck with Muhammad’s dominance as he went on to claim his 24th MMA victory. 

Now, as the date for UFC 315 inches closer, Rogan gets ready to witness Muhammad’s first title defense against Della Maddalena. But can ‘Remember The Name’ maintain his winning streak and impress Rogan yet again? That needs to be seen. 

What do you think of Belal Muhammad as a UFC champion? Do you think his fights aren’t as flashy and entertaining as those of the champions in other weight divisions? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.