At UFC 315, we will finally get to see Belal Muhammad back in action, and many expect the Arab-American to put on yet another wrestling masterclass and earn a gem on his belt in his first title defense as he takes on the Australian Jack Della Maddalena. In a total of 18 fights inside the UFC Octagon, Muhammad has dominated his opponents in a staggering 15 of them. His wrestling game for further elevated when he spent a few months in Dagestan with coach Khabib and came back to dethrone Leon Edwards and claim the 170-pound division throne.

Heading into this bout, ‘Bully B’s trust in his abilities has grown to its career high at this point. His performance against Edwards and Sean Brady come to mind when we ‘Remember The Name’ Belal Muhammad and talk about what he brings to the Octagon. One UFC legend sat down with hosts Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo on their show, Pound4Pound, to discuss Muhammad’s superior wrestling prowess and his bout against Maddalena at UFC 315.

Former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler shared his thoughts on Muhammad’s underwhelming fighting style, which may not be taken nicely by ‘Bully B’. Lawler said: “I mean obviously, it’s Belal—where it starts with him. I think is he’s fine everywhere, but his wrestling, I mean he’s gets in on guys, hips easy, lifts out, works guys and that’s kind of what he’s what he’s doing it’s it’s simple things, but he’s just doing it at a freaking high level and guys aren’t ready for it.

The former UFC welterweight champion added, “Not everyone has wrestled their whole lives and has seen that type of stuff before. So it’s a lot of good guys, a lot of different body types, tall guys, shorter, but it’s yeah a lot of exciting fights for the ufc to put together at welterweight for sure.”

Indeed, the welterweight division rankings is full of amazing match-ups just moments away from being made and Lawler believes even if Muhammad continues enhancing his wrestling, the diversity in challenge will be the biggest threat to his throne. ‘Remember The Name’ may not have been a champion for long but his ‘boring’ wrestling-heavy style is one of biggest reasons behind his dominance in the welterweight division.

With all that being said, Muhammad stands as the heavy favorite to win his clash against Maddalena. And considering he does actually win the bout, ‘Bully B’ has even hinted on a move up to middleweight.

““I think 185 is probably the easiest weight class” – Belal Muhammad hints move to the 185-pound division.

While ‘Bully B’s confidence is surely on another level. He has, time and time again, backed up his words with his actions. With wins over 5 of the current top 10 welterweights, he confidently believes he will walk through the Octagon as the victor in this fight. Muhammad has started to envision his own double champ status amid many other champions going for the same status as well.

Joining the list of fighters who are looking for a title shot in a division above their weight class and becoming a ‘double-champ’, Muhammad’s move up will surely affect the dynamics of both the 170 and 185 pound divisions of the UFC. Names like Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev are two current fighters demanding a title shot at the lightweight and the welterweight title respectively. However, Makhachev’s title shot at 170 pounds is blocked by his close friendship with the champion there Belal Muhammad.

Belal Muhammad’s close relationship with Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team is the only obstacle between Islam Makhachev and his welterweight title shot. With that being said, if Muhammad is in fact eyeing a move up to middleweight, both the parties will land in a win-win situation. While hinting a move to the middleweight division of the UFC, ‘Bully B’ said: ““For me, I’d rather go to 185 and let [Makhachev] just take 170. Since I’ve already had to fight my way up to 170—I’ve beaten five top-10 guys—I’m two fights away from being able to challenge for [the middleweight title] and saying, ‘Hey, I want to be double champ.” 

While talking about the UFC 312 main event between Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland, Muhammad couldn’t hold back from trash-talking yet again as he said: “I think 185 is probably the easiest weight class—besides Khamzat. When you look at that main event, you’re like, ‘Bro, Strickland and du Plessis suck.” Rather harsh words to say the least, ‘Bully B’ surely wants to get inside the heads of his future opponents as he has done so well, so far.

Time and time again, Muhammad has proved his critics wrong, even if in an unconventional way, he has established himself as one of the top fighters of the organizations. His first true test as champion awaits at UFC 315. Will Belal Muhammad be able to beat Jack Della Maddalena and go for middleweight title? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.