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Belal Muhammad is no stranger to MMA megastar Conor McGregor, with both fighters having taken multiple jibes at one another in the past. Speaking to ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi, Muhammad has now suggested that he’d like to face ‘Notorious’ inside the octagon.
Muhammad is coming off a unanimous decision win over Vicente Luque at UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2 on April 16, successfully avenging his 2016 KO loss to Luque.
The 33-year-old subsequently revealed that he’s currently willing to fight Leon Edwards, Khamzat Chimaev, and particularly Colby Covington. Furthermore, Muhammad expressed his desire to fight former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor next.
McGregor’s last fight was a lightweight bout against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, during which the Irishman suffered a gruesome leg injury. He's expected to return from that injury hiatus later this year. McGregor has noticeably bulked up ahead of his comeback and has hinted that he’ll return to the welterweight division.
In the interview with Raimondi, Muhammad said:
“You’ve still got the Irish gimp that’s talking about coming up to 170. So, I wouldn’t mind slapping him around too.”
Raimondi then chimed in and indicated that Muhammad was referring to McGregor. Muhammad smiled and continued:
“Yeah, we’ve gone back and forth here and there. He’s talking about it. He looks like he’s juiced up a little bit. So, we’ll be the same size. I’m not the biggest 170-pounder.”
Watch Belal Muhammad discuss a possible fight against Conor McGregor and more in the video below:
Kamaru Usman fires back at Conor McGregor after his recent call-outs
Top-tier welterweights such as Belal Muhammad and Khamzat Chimaev have thrown their names into the title mix with notable wins this month. Nevertheless, the consensus is that UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will defend his title against Leon Edwards next.
Additionally, with Muhammad and Chimaev campaigning for a fight against Colby Covington next, it’s believed that Conor McGregor could end up leapfrogging them into a welterweight title matchup later this year.
McGregor recently suggested that he’d like to return this summer and fight Usman for the welterweight belt. Usman, for his part, has emphasized that he’s focused on Edwards next and not on McGregor. Speaking to TMZ Sports, Usman hit back at ‘Notorious’ and said:
"This guy is not relevant. He hasn't done anything in the sport as of late. So, in order for him to be relevant, he has to try to attach his name to someone who is relevant. And what the media is not understanding, the media is not getting right now."
