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Belal Muhammad Is Working Harder Than Ever
Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad Is Pushing Even Harder To Keep His Belt Ahead Of His First Defense At UFC 315: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena
Belal Muhammad is the champion, but don’t expect him to rest on his laurels. That would betray everything the 36-year-old is about, including the long journey it took for him to even get a shot at gold. After 18 walks to the Octagon and a 10-fight unbeaten streak, Muhammad finally got his crack at the title and promptly dominated Leon Edwards en route to a decision win.
After taking some time off to recover from an injury, he is attacking his first defense with that gritty mindset that got him to this position in the first place.
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“We're still chasing the belt,” Muhammad told UFC.com. “I'm not defending it. I'm still that challenger. I got to have the challenger’s mindset, and we're never satisfied. We want to be the best.”
“To be the best, we got to keep winning our next fight.”
“Remember the Name” has been open about his desire to achieve G.O.A.T. status in the welterweight division, a lofty goal when that means surpassing Georges St-Pierre, but the only way to do that is to fight and to win. The first order of that business is defending his title for the first time against surging Australian contender Jack Della Maddalena.
Muhammad has enjoyed champ life for a multitude of reasons, one of which is the fact that people are finally listening to what he has to say. For years, he was forced into the dark horse role, one where he felt he needed to convince higher ranked opponents to fight him. Now, he is the A-side of UFC’s first fight in Montreal in more than 10 years. That means more interviews, more obligations and more responsibilities, as well.
MORE UFC 315: Coach Conversation | Muhammad vs Della Maddalena
As UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik puts it, he is the man around whom this card was built, and Muhammad is relishing it.
“This is where I always pictured myself,” Muhammad said. “I got what I always wanted, always dreamed of, and the hard work is starting to pay off. We're here now. These are the problems you wish for, right? The extra interviews, the extra talking, the media. But I'm happy because it was all worth it.”
Belal Muhammad Goes Down Memory Lane | UFC 315
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Belal Muhammad Goes Down Memory Lane | UFC 315
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Most people around the sport, including Muhammad, expected this first defense to come against the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov, especially after Rakhmonov bested Ian Machado Garry at UFC 310 and faced off with Muhammad in the Octagon. However, injuries prevented that matchup from coming to fruition for the time being.
In stepped Perth’s Della Maddalena, who comes into the bout having won all seven of his UFC bouts, including four via knockout. The Dana White’s Contender Series alumnus was originally slated to face Leon Edwards in March 2025, but when the slot opened up, Della Maddalena found himself in a title fight less than four years into his UFC career.
UFC 315 Full Fights: Muhammad vs Edwards 2 | Della Maddalena vs Burns | Shevchenko vs Murphy | Fiorot vs Namajunas
As opposed to Muhammad’s rematch with Edwards, the buildup to May 10 has been on the more respectful side. Della Maddalena is one of the mellowest humans on the UFC roster, and although Muhammad admits to loving pre-fight drama, he isn’t one to fake the funk on a beef.
All that said, Muhammad isn’t treating Della Maddalena any lighter just because he has been respectful.
“I was in his place last fight; I was the challenger,” Muhammad said. “I was the guy that had my first moment to fight for the belt, so I know what he's thinking. I know what he's feeling. But the thing that he doesn’t realize is he's fighting a champion that has that same mindset. I'm still that guy that wants what he has. He has 17-fight winning streak. I want that win streak. I want to take that from him, and that mindset is going to give me time to keep me winning, to keep me hungry.”
The journey to gold made Muhammad the never-quit, undeniable force he is in the Octagon. It’s something he wears on his sleeve, and he wants to continue not only his own momentum, but that of his teammates at Valle Flow Striking. Earlier in the year, Yair Rodriguez and Ignacio Bahamondes picked up spectacular wins. Muhammad gets his turn in Montreal, and he hopes to set the stage for his teammate and women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña when she defends her title at UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey.
WATCH: Belal Muhammad's Fight Week Interview
“It's been amazing because we're a small family,” Muhammad said. “Whenever one of us fight, we all fight. We all have that same mentality. We want to see each other succeed. So for them two to come out with huge wins and win the way they won, it just shows we're doing the right stuff. We're building something special in Chicago. We're the only team in the world with two world champions and people aren't even talking about us enough. They're talking about all these other teams, this squad, that squad. But like I said, I think we have the best squad in the world. We have the best team in the world, and we're going to show it again this Saturday.”
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Still in the early days of shaping his legacy as the welterweight champion, Muhammad often brings up his pride in his path.
Sure, any fighter would rather have a fast ascent up the rankings filled with fanfare, but that wasn’t to be for the Chicago-bred Palestinian-American. But that exact journey is what Muhammad believes makes him a demon of an opponent for any challengers that may step up to knock on the door, starting with Della Maddalena at UFC 315.
“I think it made me appreciate it more," he said. "I had to go through a lot of ups, a lot of downs and a lot of waiting. And at the time you're thinking it is the worst thing ever, and why is it happening to me? Why is it going this way? And it's like all those tests, all those things God put me through, it was for this reason. I appreciate this more, and I don't change who I am. Now it makes you work that much harder because now I don't want to let it go. I worked too hard for this to lose it.”
UFC 315: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena took place live from Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec, Canada on May 10, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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