By Fernando Quiles
– December 10, 2023
Belal Muhammad will be an emergency backup in the event that something goes awry with the planned UFC 296 headliner.
The scheduled main event for UFC 296 is a UFC Welterweight Championship fight between titleholder Leon Edwards and Colby Covington. It certainly isn’t unusual for the UFC to have backup fighters for title bouts. In this case, however, Muhammad believes he’s been chosen because the UFC doesn’t trust Edwards or Covington to make it to fight night.
RELATED: BELAL MUHAMMAD BELIEVES COLBY COVINGTON WILL RETIRE IF HE LOSES TO LEON EDWARDS AT UFC 296
Belal Muhammad Speaks On UFC 296 Backup Role
Belal Muhammad revealed the news of his backup role for the UFC 296 main event during an interview with MMAJunkie.com. He expressed his belief that the UFC knew he’d be reliable for the emergency fighter spot.
“They just hit me up Friday, asked me if I’m willing to weigh in for next week,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “I think obviously they know Colby and Leon are the two most inactive welterweights in the division. Neither of these guys likes to fight. They’re both good at running. So just to be on the safe side, they called the dude that always steps up whenever needed.
“For me, I was training this whole time regardless just in case something happened,” Muhammad said. “The last two main events on the pay-per-views both got canceled, but since my last fight with Gilbert Burns, I took that one on short notice and I was like, ‘I never want to get out of shape like this again.’ Because I was so bad before that fight and it was the hardest fight cut ever. So I knew I had to be a professional from then on. Never getting big like that again.”
Regardless of whether or not he’s needed for UFC 296, most agree that Belal Muhammad is deserving of a UFC Welterweight Championship opportunity.
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