It is almost certain that Belal Muhammad will fight for the welterweight title next. The #2 ranked welterweight, is on a nine-fight win streak including a short-notice fight against Gilbert Burns last year, and has the best case to challenge welterweight champion Leon Edwards next. ‘Rocky’ has confirmed recently that he would be defending his title at UFC 300 in April, and although he did not say who he will face, it is widely expected that he would fight Belal on the anniversary card.

And while the bout has not been officially confirmed yet, Muhammad certainly seems sure he is next based on his talks with UFC CEO Dana White– “Dana told me I’m next uh and Dana’s not a man to go against his word so we’re just waiting for the everything to be finalized.” And the 35-year-old is seemingly leaving no stone unturned to get ready to face Edwards.

Belal Muhammad confirms his plans for Dagestan

Belal Muhammad’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz indicated that the Palestinian was going to the Russian province of Dagestan, home to the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, to prepare for his title shot.

The #2 ranked welterweight has come out and confirmed that he is indeed going to Dagestan to train in an interview with MMA Junkie. Muhammad told the outlet that he was looking forward to the tough, competitive fight camps and had benefited greatly the last time he trained with the Dagestanis.

“I’m planning, for sure, to go to Dagestan, go down there and trade with those guys. It’s to get a new look, to get different feels. And those guys that don’t let you take any days off, or any easy rounds, so that’s always perfect for me. The last time I trained with those guys, we got a dominant finish. And I plan to do the same thing and just not to jinx anything or whatever,” Muhammad conveyed.

This is widely regarded as a good move on Muhammad’s part as his wrestling-heavy fighting style is exactly what the Dagestanis excel at. Former UFC two-division champion Henry Cejudo even thinks that the Palestinian is the closest thing stylistically to GOAT contender Khabib Nurmagomedov. And training with the former champion will certainly help him sharpen his skills for the title bout against Edwards.

Muhammad thinks Edwards is mentally weak

Muhammad felt that Leon Edwards was “weak mentally” based on the conduct of his corner. He said ‘Rocky’ had a lackluster resume, with Kamaru Usman having dominated their first fight until his sudden head-kick KO, and felt the Nigerian won their second fight. The 35-year-old warned the Englishman that he had not faced anyone as hungry and competitive as him in his career.

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“I think Leon having to fight somebody like me, who is hungry, who has been fighting the best guys in the world, it’s going to be a different kind of fight for him… When you have coaches like that who give you that type of advice in between (rounds), that just tells me how weak mentally you are,” he added.

Who do you think will win in a potential bout between Belal Muhammad and Leon Edwards?

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