36-year-old Belal Muhammad proved to the world why he believes he is the best in the welterweight division. ‘Remember the Name’ dominated his first title fight against Leon Edwards. ‘Rocky’ seemed absolutely surprised by the way Muhammad started the fight. However, before he could do anything the challenger grappled his way towards victory.

After his emphatic victory, UFC CEO Dana White credited Khabib Nurmagomedov for his success. Muhammad has a close association with the Dagestani camp and does train with him. But has ‘The Eagle’ helped him sharpen his skills? Let us find out what the former lightweight champion had to say about the whole.

Khabib Nurmagomedov credits Belal Muhammad and his team for his performance

After retiring from the sport the 29-0 fighter has taken a liking towards coaching. However, he did not train ‘Remember the Name’ for his UFC 304 clash. The 32-year-old took to his Instagram account to share a story with a message that read, “Belal trained with his coaches, he has very high class coaches, I just helped him in small things. All credit goes to his coaches and Belal heart.”

Muhammad has waited a long time to get his opportunity at the title shot. The first fight between the pair ended up as a no-contest after ‘Rocky’ accidentally poked at Muhammad’s eye. Since then, the 36-year-old has been consistently performing in the division and entered the contest with five consecutive wins. Muhammad’s exceptional wrestling skills proved too much to handle for Edwards and it seems he was a man on a mission. In most of the interviews, he made it clear that he wanted to prove to everyone that he was the best in the division.

He indeed proved that he was the best. However, the big question lies in who will be facing next in his career. One of the contenders is Islam Makhachev who has shown his willingness to become a dual-champion. But Muhammad has made it clear that he would never face Makhachev inside the Octagon. Let us find out the options the 36-year-old has next.

Who will Belal Muhammad face next in his career?

Islam Makhachev is desperate to become a dual division champion now after defending his title thrice in the division. However, it seems the champion will never to go up against his training partner. Both Makhachev and Muhammad have been training together for quite some time now. Before his UFC 304 fight, ‘Remember the Name’ made it clear that he would never fight his brother and said, “I would never fight him (Islam), 100 percent.” With the lightweight champion out of the contest whom can he face next? It seems it would be Shavkat Rakhmonov. ‘Nomad’ has been in a role since making his debut in the division in 2020.

He is unbeaten in all his fights and has finished all of his fights. Rakhmonov took a special interest in the fight and congratulated the champion on X with a tweet, “I hope you keep your word and defend your title against me when you’re ready, champ”. It now seems even Muhammad doesn’t mind fighting him. During the post-fight press conference, the 36-year-old responded to the claim and said, “Yeah, of course… I’ve literally never turned down a fight, I never back down from anybody, I’ve had so many people turn down fights against me. So now I’m at the top, I’m the man, and for me it’s now cementing my legacy as the best welterweight to ever do it.” With both fighters willing to face each other it will be interesting to see when the fight happens.

Are you excited about the upcoming clash between the two? Let us know in the comments below.