The road to becoming a champion in the UFC is a mammoth task, and it was especially hard for Belal Muhammad. He earned his shot after six years of hard work and nine straight wins, ultimately dominating Leon Edwards in front of his home crowd at UFC 304. Now, ‘Remember The Name’ is set to defend his belt for the first time at UFC 315, and he believes that not seeing himself as the champ, but holding onto that hungry, contender mindset, will give him the edge against Jack Della Maddalena.

Belal has never been the most captivating fighter in the promotion, but there’s no denying he became the best version of himself when he stepped up as the top contender to face Leon for the welterweight title. We saw the most refined version of his grappling, this time with a bit more violence mixed in. He looked more lethal than in any of his past performances, and that edge might’ve come from all the trash talk he fired at the former champ’s camp in the lead-up to the fight.

Now that the Palestinian-American is the champion, many expected his mentality to shift—maybe become a bit more cautious and respectful of his opponent’s strengths. However, the 170-pound champ has made it clear that winning the belt didn’t satisfy his competitive spirit. He’s still carrying that hunter mentality which he had against Leon Edwards, into his title defense against Jack Della Maddalena.

During an interview with TNT Sport’s Adam Catterall and Nick Peet, Belal said, “For me, my mentality is still to be the hunter, right? I still wanna be that guy, still want to have that chip on my shoulder. Winning the belt—it didn’t satisfy me. For me, it was like, ‘What’s the next project? What’s the next goal? What’s the next target?’ I’m always that guy who’s always after a fight, what’s next? Who’s next? So, I had to keep that same mind. Even with the belt, I don’t this as defending the belt. I see this like I’m fighting for the belt. I need to win another belt. It took me forever to get to this spot, and I got to have the same mentality that I had when I fought Leon.” 

That’s definitely a good sign from Belal Muhammad—the fact that he’s bringing the same intensity he had when he challenged Edwards. But does that mean he’s going to strike? That’s something we’ll find out this weekend.

Georges St-Pierre has already called him a “complete package,” and Belal just might just prove that once again. But before any of that, he took a moment to respond to the legend himself. Let’s see what he had to say.

Belal Muhammad responds to Georges St-Pierre’s praise 

Praise from a legend like Georges St-Pierre doesn’t come around often, but when it does, it definitely carries weight. In an interview with Bloody Elbow, ‘Rush’ revealed that he’s a fan of Belal’s unorthodox style and praised his all-around skill set, saying, “He’s good everywhere and he’s got a very awkward style that throws a lot of people off, especially standing up in the striking department.”

A legend like Georges St-Pierre praising Belal Muhammad has to be a major confidence boost heading into the fight. ‘Remember The Name’ has often been linked to GSP, not just for his journey, but also because of the unexpected comparisons drawn between their similar fighting styles. So, it’s no surprise that the current 170-pound champion made sure to return the respect to the legend. 

Belal, continuing his interview in TNT Sports, said, “Honestly, to have a guy like GSP to say that it was an honor. He was like one of those guys who was the best in the division to ever do it, right? So, to hear from him, right, the respect of your peers, the respect of a hall of famer like that, it’s huge.”

UFC 315 is set to go down in Canada, and Belal Muhammad just received praise from none other than the greatest Canadian MMA fighter of all time. With that kind of recognition and his relentless hunter mentality, will Belal make this clash with Jack Della Maddalena even more interesting? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.