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Belal Muhammad will face a big step up in competition when he meets welterweight veteran Demian Maia at UFC 263. Muhammad, who is coming off a no-contest against top contender Leon Edwards, also believes that he could immediately burst into the title picture with a win against Demian Maia.
In a recent interview with Sportskeeda, Belal Muhammad credited his opponent for having dropped fights only against high-level competition. According to 'Remember the Name', a win against Demian Maia would also establish him as a legitimate threat to Kamaru Usman's welterweight title.
Discussing his title aspirations, Belal Muhammad told Andrew Whitelaw:
"Yeah, like you said I'm literally 8-1 in my last nine fights. People are now starting to realize, 'Oh, we got another one in the division.' And I feel like this fight's gonna be able to help me prove that I belong there. The only guys that beat Demian Maia are guys that fought for the title. He's only lost to Gilbert Burns, T-Woodley (Tyron Woodley), (Kamaru) Usman. Those guys are right there, were champions or are champions. Those are the only guys he loses to. So, for me to beat a guy like that, it's gonna let people know, like Usman doesn't need to be going up to '85 (185 lbs). He still got a couple of more fights at '70 (170 lbs) that he needs to prove to someone."
Having plowed through the entire welterweight division, Kamaru Usman expressed interest in moving up a weight class in the aftermath of his title defense against Gilbert Burns at UFC 258. However, Usman would only consider the move if his good friend Israel Adesanya vacated the middleweight throne for good.
How does Belal Muhammad compare to Demian Maia?
Belal Muhammad was riding a four-fight win streak when he suffered the fateful eye-poke against Leon Edwards, resulting in a no-contest. Having gone 8-1-1 in his last ten UFC outings, the 32-year old currently looks to be in the best shape for a title run.
Demian Maia, on the other hand, is coming off a TKO loss to Gilbert Burns which also saw his three-fight win streak snapped. Known as one of the greatest grapplers to have stepped inside the octagon, Maia still poses a threat to Muhammad at the age of 43 though he might be well past his prime.
