‘Underdog’ UFC champ Belal Muhammad laments new fans: ‘Get away from me’

Belal Muhammad has gained a bunch of new fans since winning the UFC welterweight belt. However, he worries those new fans could actually be a detriment if he lets them get to his head.

Muhammad won the UFC welterweight title last year, when he thumped England’s Leon Edwards to a lopsided decision win on enemy turf. It was the Palestinian-American’s 10th win in a row. That streak that also includes victories over top contenders like Sean Brady, Gilbert Burns and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.

With the belt now wrapped around his waist, Muhammad is clearly one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC. However, he has not always been a hit among fans. That’s due primarily to the conspicuous lack of finishes on his resume.

That has changed slightly since he beat Edwards, and while he’s surely grateful for the love, he recently admitted that he prefers to be doubted by MMA fans, as it drives him to prove people wrong.

“I’m like bro, go back, get away from me, I don’t want the fans,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “I want the doubters, I want the people to tell me I’m going to lose because it just makes me work that much harder. But that’s why I have the circle around me, the teammates around me that keep me level-headed. There is no easy fight in this game, there is no easy win, as people will say it or the fans will say it.”

Belal Muhammad returns at UFC 315

Belal Muhammad will have his first title defense at UFC 315, when he takes on Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena. The card goes down on May 10 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Maddalena is considered one of the division’s best strikers, and most recently scored a TKO win over Burns.

Muhammad claims to be training for the Australian as though he is fighting boxer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

“In my head, I’m going against the best striker in the world,” Muhammad said. “In my head, I’m going against Canelo Alvarez. So I’ve got to train like I’m going against those guys so I don’t look past him, and I don’t take my foot off the gas. I’m still having that underdog mentality. For me, it’s not defending the belt. It’s still fighting for the belt again, it’s still remembering that it took me this long to get my title shot, it took me this long to get noticed by anybody. I’m not going to let it go. He’s not going to take it from me.”