UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has had a lot to say for the past few weeks. From dissing Sean Strickland to clapping back at Kamaru Usman, the fighter is now taking aim at Dricus Du Plessis–middleweight champion.
Muhammad is scheduled to face Shavkat Rakhamonov in his next title defense, but he says he might be moving up to middleweight. The fighter took a shot at Dricus Du Plessis and Strickland, saying their division is quite easy to beat.
“185 is probably the easiest weight class — besides Khamzat [Chimaev]. When you look at that [UFC 312] main event, you’re like, ‘Bro, Strickland and du Plessis suck.’”
During an interview with The Ariel Helwani Show, du Plessis responded to Muhammad’s boast with a few cracks of his own.
“Belal Muhammad, I can’t even remember the way he fights, I don’t know,” du Plessis said. “Has he ever finished anyone? … I mean, I like how he acts as if he has a choice to ever go up to 185. The UFC will never let him. If he wanted to, he’d have to abandon his belt, give up his belt, vacate, and go up to 185, and there’s no way they give him a direct title shot. There’s no way. The UFC doesn’t even like Belal Muhammad.
“He hasn’t even defended his belt once. He’s definitely better on Twitter than he is when he fights; let’s just say that.”
Although a matchup between the two would generate headlines and bring a lot of viewership, du Plessis doesn’t believe it is an equal match and added that UFC CEO Dana White is not a huge fan of Muhammad, so the fight might not come to fruition.
“No, that would be unfair,” du Plessis said. “If I fight Belal Muhammad, it would be unfair. One hundred percent, have you seen the size of the man? What is he going to do? Is he going to get somebody to help him? Is he going to sit on somebody’s neck? How is it going to work? He’s the smallest—I couldn’t believe that he’s at 170 when I saw him. I couldn’t believe that he fights at 170.”
When asked what the prediction on how a fight with Muhammad might go, du Plessis was unperturbed.
“I step on his head and it’s over,” du Plessis said. “That’s how that fight goes.”
Muhammad got wind of this dismissive remark and took jabs at his peers.
“He can barely walk without tripping over his own feet,” Muhammad wrote on social media. “He ain’t touching me.”
For now, no official date has been set as both champions appear to have their next title defenses lined up. Du Plessis is expected to face Khamzat Chimaev, and Muhammad is waiting to re-book a postponed bout with challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov.
