Belal Muhammad shares stoic message after UFC 315 setback to Jack Della Maddalena

Belal Muhammad lost his UFC welterweight title in an absolute war of attrition against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 last weekend. The Fight of the Night-winning battle marked the fourth professional loss in the career of 'Remember The Name'.

Despite the disappointment of losing his title, Muhammad appears to be in good spirits. Post-UFC 315, the former champion uploaded a photo of himself with the Palestinian flag behind him:

"Fall Down 7 stand up 8"

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The loss dropped Belal Muhammad's overall pro record to 24-4-0 (1 NC) and snapped his 11-fight unbeaten streak that started back in 2019. The loss also opens up a possibility for Muhammad's friend, UFC lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, to move up to welterweight and challenge the new champion, Jack Della Maddalena.

Derek Brunson heavily critical of Belal Muhammad's striking-heavy approach at UFC 315

While many praised Belal Muhammad for his grit and moxie to stand toe-to-toe with Jack Della Maddalena in the face of defeat, some are critical of his decision to abandon his possible wrestling advantage. With most of his training spent with Dagestani wrestlers like Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, people expected 'Remember the Name' to lean heavily on his takedowns.

One such critic of Muhammad's striking-heavy game plan was PFL star and former UFC middleweight Derek Brunson, who took to X to provide his feedback. He also cited Bo Nickal, who lost a week ago, as an example to prove his point.

Brunson said:

"Lowkey I feel bad for Belal . He wanted to prove he could win without wrestling . There’s a difference between half shooting to keep your opponent respecting your TDs and actually wrestling / chaining attacks together . Where as Bo Nickal elected not to wrestle because he was concerned about his opponent’s ground skills . Moral of the story WRESTLE BABY WRESTLE . Take down , ground and pound until the ref stops it #MakeGroundAndPoundGreatAgain"

Check out Brunson's tweet here:

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About the author

Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

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Edited by Nicolaas Ackermann