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Belal Muhammad is scheduled to put his welterweight title on the line against Jack Della Maddalena in the main event of UFC 315 on May 10. He is regarded as one of the division's best grapplers. However, ahead of his title challenge against Leon Edwards at UFC 304, Muhammad's coach stated that the 36-year-old had "hands" like Canelo Alvarez, one of the finest boxers in the world.
The comment went viral online, and ahead of his upcoming bout against Della Maddalena, 'Remember the Name' has maintained a similar theme by promising to keep the fight standing instead of shooting for takedowns. The upcoming title challenger's grappling coach, Craig Jones, recently shared his thoughts on the claim that Muhammad had "hands" like Alvarez.
Jones has traded verbal jabs with the welterweight champion over the past few weeks. During a recent interview with Kayo Sports, he was asked if he felt that Muhammad's boxing was comparable to Alvarez's. He said:
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"Probably Canelo's first round from his last fight, where he didn't throw a punch [in the whole round]. I'd say that was pretty similar to Belal's striking... I've seen some similarities."
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Check out Craig Jones' comments about Belal Muhammad's striking below (0:45):
Jones made reference to Canelo Alvarez's previous fight, which took place on May 3 against William Scull. The bout received immense backlash from fans due to the lacklustre nature of the fight. Scull was accused of running from his opponent for most of the 12-round clash, with the Mexican boxer only throwing four punches in Round 1 of their fight, landing none of them.
Belal Muhammad sends Craig Jones a message at UFC 315 press conference
Jack Della Maddalena is one of the more reserved and relaxed fighters on the promotion's roster, and as such, has not exchanged much trash talk with Belal Muhammad.
But Della Maddalena's grappling coach, Craig Jones, has been far more vocal about Muhammad and his chances of remaining champion following UFC 315. During the recently held pre-fight press conference, Muhammad was asked if he had a message for Jones, and said:
"Just keep butt-scooting bro. No one is worried about you. If he wants to do something, step up."
Check out Belal Muhammad's message to Craig Jones below (11:00):
