“I’m going to go in there, I’m going to outbox Jack. I’m not going to shoot one takedown, and I’m going to show him the meaning of Canelo hands.” This declaration was part of Belal Muhammad‘s strategy to showcase his improved boxing skills, drawing inspiration from the legendary Canelo Álvarez. Even the coach of Muhammad, Horacio Gutierrez, believed in ‘Remember The Name’s ‘Canelo hands’ as he said, “His hands are really, really good right now; they’re sharp, they’re fast. We’ve got him the Mexican boxing style. If you guys watch Canelo…all those guys, Belal has hands like that right now.”

However, their claims were met with skepticism and even mockery from some in the MMA community. Notably, grappling coach and BJJ legend Craig Jones humorously remarked, “Probably Canelo’s first round from his last fight, where he didn’t throw a punch [in the whole round]. I’d say that was pretty similar to Belal’s striking… I’ve seen some similarities.”

On UFC 316 fight night, after multiple failed takedowns, ‘Bully B’ had to box with the newly crowned king of the welterweights, Jack Della Maddalena, and things did not go the way he wanted them to. When the dust settled, he was outstruck, dominated, and left with facial scars. Despite the loss, Muhammad earned respect for his resilience and toughness throughout the bout. Many of his critics chose not to speak against Belal just because of the show of grit in his performance.

Now, as Muhammad plans to move forward from the crushing defeat, a new video of the Arab-American fighter’s training session has been released. In the video, Muhammad can be seen boxing in the gym, War Room Academy. Some are calling him a champ, and others are calling him fake, but as always, ‘Bully B’ was yet again successful in getting out reactions from the MMA community.

The video was posted on Instagram by an MMA channel named ‘Home of Fight’, and written on the post was, “The champ is back rebuilding himself.” And fans have spelled an ominous future for ‘Bully B’.

As Muhammad continues to hone his skills, most of the comments on the post were rather concerned and took hits at the 38-year-old. They believe he will not be getting any title shots after his loss to ‘JDM’ at UFC 315. What did they say? Let’s read further to find out.

“He’s not the champ.”- Fans doubt Belal Muhammad’s return to title contention after UFC 315 loss

Following his unanimous decision loss to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315, Belal Muhammad faces skepticism and trolling from the fans regarding his prospects for another title shot. Despite his efforts to showcase improved striking skills, dubbed “Canelo Hands,” and earning so much respect, the defeat has led many to question his standing in the welterweight division.

One fan commented, “Sorry but he’s not getting the title again, so much killers in the Welterweight division now and he’s 38 years old.” While another one joined him, saying, “Please do not comeback.” These comments point to Muhammad’s lack of high-profile victories as a barrier to reclaiming championship status. One fan with the same intent said, “The Champ? I don’t see RDR in the video. Bell boy ain’t ever seeing a shot at the belt again.”

Some fans even laid out a whole explanation as to why they think ‘Bully B’ is out of the title contention. One such fan said, “The champ isn’t back 😂 he ain’t the champ, only won the belt because the UFC allowed him to fight in his local time not the UK’s 🤣🤣 (I’m an active belal hater – yes he’d smoke me with one arm).” While another fan with some hope for ‘Bully B’s future, said, “He’s probably gonna need a 4 fight win streak before the ufc gives him another shot.” But for the Muhammad admirers, one fan showed some hope, commenting, “Champ, show them those Canelo hands.” 

So are these fans right, or are they wrong? It may seem like a lot of pressure, which it is, but only Belal Muhammad can give them an answer. Can he yet again make the UFC fanbase ‘Remember The Name’? He has been here before and has found glory, too. But the stakes are higher this time. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.