Belal Muhammad wasn’t able to make use of his ‘Canelo Hands’ in his maiden title defense against Jack Della Maddalena. The welterweight headliner went the distance, and while ‘Remember The Name’ showcased his grit and heart, the Australian star proved why he’s one of the most lethal strikers in the game. Della Maddalena landed 200 significant strikes against Muhammad’s 155 in what was a striking clinic from the get-go.

And not only did the Aussie clinch the crown with the judges scoring it 48-47 x2 and 49-46 in his favor, but he also left Muhammad bloodied and bruised after the fight. The new champion landed some vicious blows on the former champion, but a brutal knee strike caused many cuts on Muhammad’s face. ‘Remember The Name’ not only received a cut on his cheeks but also one on his upper lip, which seems pretty bad.

But despite how the fight went down, his teammate and lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, supported Muhammad, claiming, “Head up champ,” on X. Makhachev also claimed that winning or losing the title isn’t as big as what Belal Muhammad is doing: Paving the way for the next generation of fighters from his community. “[Belal Muhammad] today were fighting for something bigger than ufc title, he’s fighting for all generation of people, win or lose, don’t define his legacy,” Makhachev added.

Meanwhile, reigning middleweight champion and Muhammad’s arch-nemesis Dricus Du Plessis decided to have some fun with Belal Muhammad after he dropped the belt. There’s no doubt that after this fight, ‘Remember The Name’ may no longer be associated with the term ‘boring fighter’. He certainly delivered in his first title defense.

But the South African juggernaut would take to X, and, unlike Islam Makhachev, he took a small dig at the ex-champ’s title fight loss. “Well done! JK,” the middleweight kingpin wrote.

Well, then came the fans, who weighed in on Belal Muhammad’s physical state after the brutal fight against Jack Della Maddalena, especially the cut on his lip. And guess what? Most of them followed the exact route that Dricus du Plessis did. Here’s what they had to say.

Belal Muhammad now looks like Khamzat Chimaev? Fans claim after the UFC 315 headliner

Cuts on the lips do leave a nasty mark. But fans, after looking at how Belal Muhammad’s lip was after the fight, believe that he might have a scar for the rest of his life. But they don’t seem too worried about that as they jibed at him for not delivering a striking clinic like he promised before the fight. “Canelo hands to Pillow Hands,” one fan commented in a post on Instagram.

When it comes to his injury, fans started calling Muhammad with a new nickname as a jibe. “Remember the lip,” said one fan. Meanwhile, another fan claimed that the former champion now bears a resemblance to Khamzat Chimaev, who also has a cut mark on his upper lip. “Bros finna look like chimaev.”

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However, when it comes to the injury, an Instagram user claimed, “That s–t is nasty.” Moreover, there were some genuine concerns for Belal Muhammad’s state after the fight, and there were a lot of fans who lauded the former champion for his durability and never-give-up mentality. A couple of fans commented, “Man, Belal is a DAWG,” and “Belal head and chin is f—ing durable,” praising the first Palestinian UFC champion for his performance.

They also suspected that he might have had another injury, as one of them commented, “Isn’t his nose also broken? I though the end of rd1 jack broke belal nose.” Well, what are your thoughts on Belal Muhammad’s injury? Do you think he’ll be fighting for the title again in the not-so-distant future? Drop your comments below.