Belal Muhammad’s head did not drop despite a difficult year inside the Octagon.
The former UFC welterweight champion entered 2025 with gold in his possession. This year, meanwhile, began with Muhammad riding the first losing skid of his career.
After being unseated from the throne at 170 pounds by Jack Della Maddalena, Muhammad lost to Ian Machado Garry at the UFC Fight Night in Qatar last November.
But while he went winless in the cage, last year was far from being all doom and gloom for the ex-welterweight king.
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Belal Muhammad focused on the ‘blessings’ in 2025 after winless UFC run
Before his losses against Della Maddalena in Montreal and Garry in Qatar, Muhammad was undefeated in 11 fights.
That successful streak included Muhammad’s UFC welterweight title win over Leon Edwards, as well as triumphs against Sean Brady and Gilbert Burns.
It’s now been almost two years since fans have seen ‘Remember the Name’ have his hand raised inside the Octagon, but that fact does not have Muhammad down ahead of his UFC Vegas 118 return.
“2025 is still one of the best years of my life,” Muhammad said during a recent interview with E. Spencer Kyte for UFC.com.
“I had a daughter and she’s healthy, happy; first kid, so for me, it’s just about looking at the blessings around you.
“I think too many people forget about how lucky we are. Looking at the world, looking at the wars, looking at Gaza, losing a fight is nothing compared to what those people are losing, compared to what those people are doing every single day.
“It just shows me how small the sport is compared to them,” he continued. “So for me, sport-wise, it’s about getting better, growing; using those losses to get more motivation.
“Right now, I’m the best version of myself, the strongest version of myself, and Saturday night is gonna be the best performance I put on.”
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Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
To avoid losing three fights in a row, Muhammad must defeat Gabriel Bonfim in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event inside Las Vegas’ Meta Apex.
The Palestinian star is tasked with defending his No. 5 spot in the welterweight rankings against the Brazilian, who has won his last four…
2026-06-06 01:00:00
