Belal Muhammad (24-3) will make his first defense of the welterweight title this Saturday in the main event of UFC 315 against Jack Della Maddalena (17-2). After overcoming an injury that prevented him from defending it in late 2024 against Shavkat Rakhmonov, the Palestinian will face the Australian in the midst of all the criticism of the UFC for the poor ticket sales for this event in Canada. Fans attribute this to the price of tickets and the fact that the Palestinian is not very media-friendly, who has promised that this time he will make use of his ‘Canelo Alvarez hands’.
“I’m not going to try a single takedown, and I’m going to show the meaning of ‘Canelo’s hands,'” Belal said on ‘The Coach’. His style is based on wrestling, but this time he promises a much more entertaining fight. Considering that he shares a team with good strikers such as Yair Rodriguez or Ignacio Bahamondes, in recent months Muhammad has grown a lot in this area, although it is somewhat bold to compare himself with one of the greatest superstars in boxing.
I’m not going to try a single takedown
It is true that in his fight against Leon Edwards, Belal not only outperformed him in grappling, but also in striking, managing to land several combinations on the Englishman. However, it should be noted that Jack Della Maddalena has 12 KO finishes, while the welterweight kingpin has only five. “I’m going to show the UFC fighters and the fans that I’m the best boxer in the company in the welterweight division,” concluded the Palestinian.
Natural talent
Belal’s story is different from that of a typical fighter, as people who excel in grappling tend to have practiced this discipline since childhood, or even in college as many American fighters do. “I started when I was 23 years old. I wasn’t born with it. I’m not from the mountains of Dagestan. I only wrestled for two years in high school. This is all natural talent,” he admitted a few days ago on ‘Full Send Podcast’.
I wrestled for only two years in high school. This is all natural talent
This Saturday all eyes will be on him, especially those of Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev, as the result of this fight also depends on the next lightweight title fight. If Belal wins, the Spanish-Georgian fighter will face the Dagestani on June 28, while if the Australian wins, Makhachev will surely want to move up for the double belt. In that case, it seems that Ilia will face Charles Oliveira.
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