Javier Mendez details how Belal Muhammad's UFC 315 loss may have been caused by issue that plagued Khabib Nurmagomedov as well

Belal Muhammad's welterweight title was lost in his first title defense bout against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315. This led to a discussion among various notable figures of the MMA community, including Javier Mendez, regarding Muhammad's game plan for the bout.

In the five-round contest against Della Maddalena, 'Remember The Name' started off in stand-up brawling that worked to the strength of his opponent. Only when he had discovered that this game plan would not work, Muhammad tried using his wrestling base, but this was too late to shift the balance in his favor.

In Submission Radio's recent interview, Mendez provided a detailed analysis of the headliner clash at UFC 315 by saying:

"None of us thought that Belal would be able to beat him just stand up, so he wanted to do what none of us thought he could do, that’s what I’m thinking. I could be wrong, but that’s what it appeared like to me that he wanted to stand. He didn't want to implement what got him the title, and that's the mistake people do."

Mendez further emphasized that the same desire to prove a point influenced Khabib Nurmagomedov as well.

"I used to be on Khabib all the time because Khabib, everyone always criticized him for not being good at striking. I'd always keep him on track, but he'd always go off track trying to prove to people that he could stand... Later, he was able to stand really well, extremely well. But I still didn't like that because I wanted him to go back to what made him the best, and that's the mistake a lot of fighters make.”

Check out Javier Mendez's comments on Belal Muhammad below (3:44):

Unlike Muhammad, Nurmagomedov maintained an undefeated record of 29-0 before taking up retirement from the sport.

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Robert Whittaker gets honest about Belal Muhammad's strategy at UFC 315

Since his UFC debut, Belal Muhammad has primarily won his fights by decision. As a result, he has faced significant mockery from fellow competitors and netizens alike. In his fight against Jack Della Maddalena, Muhammad attempted to silence his critics by taking a different approach, but he was not successful.

In a recent discussion on the MMArcade Podcast, Robert Whittaker reviewed the former 170-pound champion's performance. While mentioning that he expected to see more takedowns from 'Remember The Name', Whittaker said:

"I expected more takedowns. Now, it’s easy for me to say on the outside... From the outside, in the third or fourth round, when he mixed... in the striking to bring Jack onto his shots, they were clean every time. I think his only two takedowns were from the open mat, drawing Jack in sort of thing."

He added:

“Why didn’t we see more of that? I can’t help but feel like Belal was trying to make a point striking with Jack for the first three rounds. And if that’s the case, that is ridiculous."

Check out Robert Whittaker's comments on Belal Muhammad (via @RedCorner_MMA on X) below: