Belal Muhammad is sitting atop the welterweight throne in UFC and basking in the glory that comes with being a champion but there is a problem. His loyalty and goals might be at odds with each other. Why? Because the lightweight champion wants to move up a weight class. And like a true friend, he will not fight his brother Islam Makhachev since he values his relationship with the lightweight champ too much, having trained with him and Team Khabib.

This brotherhood is forged by more than blood bonds—it’s the meeting of individuals from a shared faith and doctrine. Khabib Nurmagomedov previously stated that his heart would not be able to handle seeing Makhachev and Muhammad fight. But can we allow such feelings to get in the way of fighters chasing their dreams, particularly in a sport as individualistic as MMA? Islam Makhachev (16-1 UFC), who has defended his lightweight title four times, said he would not retire before achieving his objective of becoming a UFC dual-champion.

On the other hand, Muhammad envisions a scenario where he fights a couple of title defenses and moves up to middleweight for his own goal of winning a second strap. So the only solution is for ‘Remember the Name’ to move up to 185 lbs, which is the “easiest division” according to him. But Daniel Cormier and Ben Askren are a little doubtful about this decision.

In a recent conversation, the duo spoke about Muhammad saying that he would rather vacate the welterweight title than fight Makhachev. DC said, “I think what people don’t understand about you guys at welterweight is that you guys are thicker than people imagine. Belal might not look big, but he’s got big old legs, his back is humongous. I think he’s a pretty decent-sized welterweight. But there’s a clear difference will you look at welterweight and middleweight. You get those guys, like Izzy doesn’t look like he could make 170. And I always tell people that I’m like I was never a heavyweight.”

Cormier then said something that might draw the ire of the lightweight champion who happens to be his teammate and close friend:

“I just don’t understand the reasoning [behind Belal wanting to move up a weight class] because it’s not needed, and, if you’re being completely truthful? He does have the type of style that could present problems for Islam Makhachev. Because, he has good boxing. He has good wrestling. He has a good pace and cardio. He can defend takedowns. He seems like the type of guy that would be a person that could compete with Islam.”

But would Muhammad entertain a fight with his brother-in-arms? Certainly not. While speaking to Barstool Sports Chicago, the welterweight champion said, “I would never want to do that, and they’ve helped me so much. So for me, I would rather go up to 185 pounds and let him just take 170 if that is the case.”

DC and Ben Askren have a point here. A fight between Belal Muhammad and Islam Makhachev would be an interesting matchup. But for ‘Remember the Name’, his friendship and loyalty with Makhachev are much bigger than a prestigious UFC belt. So what does he do now? Challenge Dricus Du Plessis for a fight, of course.

Dricus Du Plessis warns Belal Muhammad with a bold prediction

Belal Muhammad took a jibe at DDP and Sean Strickland’s UFC 312 fight, saying that it “sucked”. And true to form, the middleweight champion did not silently digest this jibe though. Speaking with Ariel Helwani, ‘Stillknocks’ gave some cold challenges to Muhammad. “If I fight Belal Muhammad, it would be unfair. He’d need someone else to help him,” he declared. DDP also disregarded the idea of Muhammad ever moving up to middleweight, adding, “I step on his head, and it’s over.”

He even said that UFC would not immediately give Muhammad a title shot if he vacated his welterweight belt. “Belal Muhammad, I can’t even remember the way he fights. Has he ever finished anyone?” Du Plessis asked. “I like how he acts like he has a chance to go up to 185. The UFC will never let him. If he wants to do that, he would have to abandon his belt, give up his belt, vacate, and then go up to 185 and there’s no way they give him an immediate title shot. There’s no way! The UFC doesn’t even like Belal Muhammad…” he said to Helwani.

To make matters more intense, Muhammad continued the tirade of insults on X and said that DDP has “two left feet”. He posted, “He can barely walk without tripping over his own feet he ain’t touching me,” Muhammad posted. “I don’t gotta pick him up. I’ll just push him and he’ll fall over he got 2 left feet.” So is this a hint that a middleweight title fight is on the horizon between Du Plessis and Muhammad? Share your thoughts in the comments below.