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Ex-UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad was analyzed by Syndicate MMA coach John Wood, who helps train reigning bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili. In particular, he touched on 'Remember the Name's' recent welterweight title loss to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315.
While speaking to Sportskeeda's very own James Lynch in an exclusive interview, Wood said the following about Muhammad's gutsy, but ultimately fruitless, performance against Della Maddalena:
"Man, that was great. Jack looked awesome, gritty, tough. Great performance. Went out there with a great gameplan. Executed it. I think that, maybe, Belal kind of got a little bit too carried away in the ego sense of 'Canelo Hands' and 'I'm not gonna shoot a takedown, I'm not gonna do this.' I don't know, but it was the wrong mindset. Do what you do that got you that title. Don't go away from that until you need to."
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Check out John Wood's thoughts on Belal Muhammad's title loss (9:13):
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Wood isn't the only MMA figure to speculate about Muhammad's game plan heading into UFC 315. Nevertheless, it was a close fight, which Della Maddalena likely sealed his win by badly hurting Muhammad in round five of their encounter. However, a finish eluded him, as the ex-champion proved too tough.
Now, Wood is focused more on UFC 316, where Dvalishvili will defend his bantamweight title against Sean O'Malley in a rematch. The two men first met at UFC 306, where the Georgian star dethroned 'Sugar' in a convincing unanimous decision win.
Dvalishvili will look to put their rivalry to bed, while O'Malley would almost certainly extend it into a rubber match.
Belal Muhammad is ready to bounce back
UFC 315 marked the end of Belal Muhammad's exceptional, 11-fight unbeaten streak, which consisted of 10 wins and one no-contest. However, instead of wallowing in his misery after losing his streak and welterweight title, Muhammad got back to training and is already eyeing an opponent.
According to UFC commentator Jon Anik, who is close friends with the former welterweight champion, 'Remember the Name' will take on the unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov later this year. 'The Nomad' was the original welterweight title challenger at UFC 315, but withdrew due to injury.
