Belal Muhammad’s journey from a contender to the title shot took more than eight years. With such a long time to finally achieve that goal, Muhammad had some other thoughts going into arguably the biggest fight of his life. But back in his head, he had one question: ‘What if I lost?’ Well, the new welterweight champion recently revealed the answer to this question.
Muhammad was recently interviewed by “The Fighter and the Kid.” He disclosed that he had seriously contemplated hanging up his gloves if the fight hadn’t gone his way. This was the most important fight of his life, and losing it would mean the end of everything.
“I was looking at it like, if I lost, there’s a chance that I’m probably just going to be like, ‘Bro, I’m hanging ’em up’, because I’m not gonna get another shot at it. It was so hard to get there,” said Muhammad.
The path to a UFC title shot is notoriously arduous. For the 36-year-old Muhammad, it was a journey fraught with obstacles and setbacks. Despite an impressive record and a string of victories, ‘Remember The Name‘ found himself repeatedly overlooked for title contention. As the years ticked by, he began to feel the weight of time pressing down on his championship aspirations.
Fortunately for Belal Muhammad and his fans, retirement plans were put on hold when he secured a victory over Edwards at UFC 304. The win etched Muhammad’s name in the annals of UFC history and also breathed new life into his career. His story serves as a reminder of the razor-thin margins that often separate success from failure in professional sports.
Belal Muhammad Talks About His Preparations With Khabib Nurmagomedov Ahead Of The Title Fight
Fighters often seek out the best training partners and coaches they can find when a title fight is approaching. For the newly crowned UFC welterweight champion, that search led him to none other than the undefeated legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
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In a recent interview on “The Fighter and The Kid,” Muhammad opened up about his intense training sessions with Nurmagomedov. He revealed how these sessions nearly made him question his own abilities.
“I was like ‘bro I’m getting killed by him’ and then all of a sudden I get the fight announcement and I’m like ‘bro, I suck,” said Muhammad.
Belal Muhammad recalled his thoughts after particularly grueling training sessions with Nurmagomedov. But his ability to hang with Nurmagomedov in training speaks volumes about his own skills. After all, it’s not every day that a welterweight can go toe-to-toe with the Dagestani grappling phenom and live to tell the tale!
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