Welterweight Belal Muhammad speaks with the media after his win over Gilbert Burns at UFC 288. He discusses his future title …
wow what up congrats man um obviously hard fought Victory short notice and everything just give us your immediate thoughts on what happened tonight um my media dots were I told you guys I’m the best welterweight in the world and to go out there and be the guy like Gilbert Burns three weeks notice coming off the Ramadan uh you guys have no idea what we went through to get to here but I love my team love my crew and uh I know with our faith in ourselves and our faith in God we get through anything so tell us about what you went through because there’s a lot of the Twitter investigative journalists looking at you stepping off the scale and walking into the Arena tonight maybe a limp did you come into this fight injured yeah I mean you go into every fight a little bit enjoy especially a three-week notice fight you’re you’re like wanting to rush into stuff and you get right into hard training and then you go through a couple things but like I said there’s nothing that was going to stop me from walking to this case tonight there’s nothing that was going to stop me from not doing it because this is my chance this is my moment to um prove to the world and show the world what I’m capable of doing and to do that I know that there was no pulling out there was nothing like oh man you know what never mind it was like once I made the decision we had to go through with it and uh thank God we got through it so looking ahead who do you think you are going to be fighting for the Welterweight Title will be Leon Edwards or Colby Covington the man Dana White shout out to Dana for saying it and giving me the opportunity to fight for my shot and now I earn my shot I took my shot there’s no denying me now um all I needed to hear was there’s nothing next but the title shot so can’t wait perfect world when do you make this happen perfect world we’re fighting in October in Abu Dhabi that’s the perfect world but uh I know both those guys my brother see you at the champ right there that’s when you got a chance saying you deserve the title shot that means that says a lot about shout out to Jamal hell um but yeah perfect world’s fighting in Abu Dhabi that would be amazing you know there ain’t gonna be no booing out there uh to fight over there in front of my people would be uh gray but wherever it goes man we can fight an enemy territory and friendly territory and no territory uh just give me a cage and some gloves and I’m ready to throw down are you trying to bounce out of New Jersey as quickly as possible tonight or what no I got the Jersey on now I’m trying to be Team New Jersey but I’m trying to be nice to these guys I came in here I want to be a Coleman event I took a picture of Frankie agar nobody appreciates me man back here uh congratulations on the win and making every New Jersey resident rethink their life decisions and living here so congratulations um so obviously Leon Edwards has a championship but Kobe Covington he talks a lot he knows how to sell a fight uh you know how to sell a fight and as telling by the press conference of how entertaining you were would you for selfish reasons would you say maybe I want that fight with code because it didn’t two marketable guys two guys that know how to talk shoot that jive and and have that entertaining uh build up going into the fight yeah I mean I’ve been wanting to fight that guy for years like literally since I got into the UFC when I just wanted to fight him and punch him in his face he just has that face you know you ever watch Step Brothers that face it you want to just punch Cody cousin has that face but he’s that guy like if he gets that title I could see him wanting to sit out for another two years well it’s been a year and a half since he’s far like he’s not a guy that wants to be active Leon Edwards we have unfinished business he beat the the goat he has the longest winning streak so for me taking that title from him especially the way that last fight went and for him to be satisfied with the fight decision like that if you go sweeter either way like both of them guys could taste my fists and uh I’ll be happy with either one and in the fight with uh Gilbert Burns obviously was uh going to the decision and when did you realize what round did you realize that he was uh potentially her and start to readjust okay I gotta watch out for the right gotta watch out for kicks uh the left hand is going to be uh uh nullified um you know we’re we’re looking at it my coaching notice in the fourth round and he brought it to my attention but um he’s still a dangerous guy and he’s got one of those guys where when he’s hurt that’s when he’s most dangerous so we still just had to be careful because she’s still throwing bombs and I was like all right you caught me with that one a little bit so it’s just uh he’s not on the ropes yet he’s still there and uh like we saw with the cops that fight when he’s hurt that’s when he’s uh the scariest uh congratulations on the win and even though I’m a New Jersey resident you said we suck congratulations it was an awesome performance I I’m sorry I just don’t curse though like that’s always my one-liner is you guys suck but I love the Jersey man Sopranos is the best well over here again congrats man uh the booze are you is that like fuel for you do you like that because that was really loud dude I don’t know how you did that honestly it was amazing it was like good energy like any type of energy it’s I’d rather have that type of energy than no energy right and um I I felt it I knew it was gonna come especially for the press conference and the weigh-ins so like I was prepared for it like I was having my coach boob me in the locker room uh and he was booing me as I was hitting past I’m like bro all right we’re done and he’s like no I want to keep booing you I was all right cool so we prepare for everything we’re ready for everything at all points um like I said enemy territory friendly territory uh we can throw it on anywhere and then coming off a knockout win now largely standing against someone a lot of people said well you know in quotes outstrike you are you falling in love with your hands a little bit man no I’m just I love falling in love with proving people wrong like people don’t understand the work we put in me and my team my guys I’m working with the best team in the world and people are going to start asking us literally to write books like man what do you guys do for training I get so many uh Fighters hey what do you guys do with that drill how do you guys drill like that and it’s like we’re doing the right things I think we have the perfect uh mindset the perfect team the perfect guys around me the perfect circle and we showing you guys we could do anything my last fight I wanted a box this fight I wanted a kick the last fight before that I wanted to wrestle don’t fight before that I wanted to maybe the next time I’ll pull guard I’m gonna show you guys that I can do it all it’s martial arts mixed martial arts and I can do all the mixing and last one for me October being that there’s no announcement for Leon and Colby yet might be a bit soon for the title how long are you willing to wait for that fight I mean As Long As I Got the guaranteed shot that’s all I needed to hear so now I know what’s next I know that for this fight right here I’m sitting there I’m like waiting I’m stuck in limbo I didn’t know what was gonna happen who’s gonna fight next what was gonna happen next so then they called me with a fight on three weeks notice they’re like all right I’m gonna jump on the opportunity because I’m a guy that’s always training always trying to work always thinking and I’m hungry you guys don’t know how hungry I am for this title shot you don’t know how hungry I am to win this gold and I know it doesn’t matter what I have to do I’m gonna get there so I popped up and took this opportunity and two three days in three weeks notice just because he said you win this fight you’re getting a title shot so now that I have the title shot Whoever has the belt is like you don’t have no idea what’s going to come to you it’s going to be the best version of me that you’ve ever seen in your life because this was three weeks notice give me eight weeks notice give me 12 weeks notice so it’s gonna be harder for them guys so they if I’m them I want to fight right away and then you know get a a quick turnaround right away so they don’t have to deal with the best version of me quick version over here on your far left Mom far left far left keep looking left hi oh quick question for you about the output from Gilbert it seemed a little slow in the early rounds and obviously he got hurt and it you know didn’t pick up but we use it at all surprise that he wasn’t throwing a whole lot more than he was no I think my team did a good job of reading what we want to do we wanted to attack the body uh hard with the left kick and when people go in there and they feel my left kick it hurts and they don’t want to throw off that I caught him a couple times where he threw his big overhand and I caught him with the body kick and I think that me switching stances it made him overthink the process and when I have you overthinking you don’t want to throw because he’s wondering oh he switched to the stance switch to that stance he’s a guy that usually plants his feet and he wants to throw off a plane of his feet and if I’m always moving over always messing with his mind trying to make him faint and stuff like that he can’t plan his feet he can’t throw so I think that played a big part in it below another Ramadan uh another win is there something to it maybe the the fast thing like you’re saying you’re hungry but I’m sure you’re also literally hungry at times during this uh is there something like mentally you could speak about the type of focus that you go through during this period of the year yeah I think that you know more than fasting more than not eating it’s like the a deep cleansing of your spirit and of your soul and I think that that I’m like my purest form right after Ramadan because that’s when I’ve gotten closest to God and that’s with me trusting God’s plan no matter what and even with this fight I took it on three weeks notice and it was like one weekend I was like man I still got this much weight to cut I got this injury what the heck why would I take this fight I should have pull out I should have did this but it’s like God put me here for a reason God made this happen for a reason God’s timing is the best timing so no matter what happens just trust them thank you guys