Belal Muhammad throws out wildcard name to sub in for Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315

Belal Muhammad tossed out a name from left field when recently indicating who he would like to step in for Jack Della Maddalena in the lead-up to their UFC clash. Muhammad is set to defend his welterweight crown at UFC 315 against Della Maddalena in the headline attraction set for May 10 in Montreal.

While the 170-pound kingpin has been squarely focused on preparing for Della Maddalena, it would seem like there has been some online smack talk with one of the most standout submission grapplers in the world today.

When asked by an on-site reporter about what his current issue was with grappling standout Craig Jones and why there has been a bit of banter back and forth between the two martial artists, Muhammad said:

"You know, he's talking, right? He's a character. It's always fun to get it. I love guys when there's a little bit of trash talk, right. When there's a little bit of build-up. Jack's not a really big talker. So let's put Craig in the press conference."

Check out Belal Muhammad's recent comments on Craig Jones below (6:12):

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Belal Muhammad slams former multi-time UFC welterweight title challenger

Belal Muhammad also addressed a recent situation involving a former interim UFC welterweight champion who has also had multiple bids for the lineal belt at 170 pounds. The same reporter who asked about the Craig Jones question was also asking Muhammad about an odd situation at the UFC Performance Institute (PI) that saw Colby Covington aim to prank the 36-year-old titleholder.

Belal Muhammad and Covington have a beef with one another that has grown over the years despite the two men never being locked inside the cage against one another. Covington was live streaming one of his recent workouts at the UFC PI and during the broadcast he hid food that was meant for Muhammad.

The Chicago native clearly found this to be an unusual situation when addressing it at the media day and also took a dig at Kamaru Usman. Muhammad quipped:

"He hid my food? I'm not even in Las Vegas, that's how much of a moron he is. I don't know what he's doing. These guys are like YouTubers now. Kamaru's a podcaster, Colby's a YouTuber. They need to do a podcast together, 'The Biggest Losers'." [H/t Bloody Elbow]