1. Belal Muhammad was born on July 9,1988 and is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is the current UFC Welterweight Champion.
38 Facts About Belal Muhammad
1. 2.
Belal Muhammad has four siblings: an older brother, older sister and two younger brothers.
3.
Belal Muhammad wrestled at Bogan High School where he had future PFL champion Louis Taylor as his wrestling coach.
4.
Belal Muhammad studied to become a lawyer and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
5.
On July 7,2016, at UFC Fight Night 90, Belal Muhammad made his UFC debut, as a short-notice replacement, against Alan Jouban.
6.
Belal Muhammad next faced Augusto Montano on September 17,2016, at UFC Fight Night 94.
7.
Belal Muhammad won the fight via TKO in the third round.
8.
Belal Muhammad was expected to face Lyman Good on November 12,2016, at UFC 205.
9.
Belal Muhammad lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
10.
Belal Muhammad was a short notice replacement and stepped in to face Randy Brown on February 11,2017, at UFC 208.
11.
Belal Muhammad faced Jordan Mein on July 8,2017, at UFC 213.
12.
Belal Muhammad was expected to face Jesse Taylor on November 19,2017, at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs Tybura.
13.
Belal Muhammad was expected to face Niko Price on June 1,2018, at UFC Fight Night 131.
14.
Belal Muhammad was scheduled to meet Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on September 22,2018, at UFC Fight Night 137.
15.
However, on September 14,2018, Belal Muhammad was pulled from the bout and he was replaced by newcomer Luigi Vendramini.
16.
Belal Muhammad faced Geoff Neal on January 19,2019, at UFC Fight Night 143.
17.
Belal Muhammad faced Curtis Millender on April 13,2019, at UFC 236.
18.
Belal Muhammad faced Takashi Sato on September 7,2019, at UFC 242.
19.
Belal Muhammad won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the third round.
20.
Belal Muhammad was expected to face Lyman Good on April 18,2020, at UFC 249.
21.
Belal Muhammad was expected to face Sean Brady on December 19,2020, at UFC Fight Night 183.
22.
Subsequently, Muhammed was diagnosed with COVID-19 during the week leading up to the event and the bout was scrapped from the card and the bout was rescheduled to February 13,2021, at UFC 258 Belal Muhammad won the fight via unanimous decision.
23.
Belal Muhammad faced Leon Edwards on March 13,2021, at UFC Fight Night 187.
24.
Belal Muhammad faced Demian Maia on June 12,2021, at UFC 263.
25.
Belal Muhammad faced Stephen Thompson on December 18,2021, at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Daukaus.
26.
Belal Muhammad faced Vicente Luque in a rematch on April 16,2022, at UFC on ESPN 34.
27.
Belal Muhammad faced Sean Brady on October 22,2022, at UFC 280.
28.
Belal Muhammad won the bout via TKO stoppage at the end of the second round.
29.
Belal Muhammad received his second Performance of the Night bonus.
30.
Belal Muhammad faced Gilbert Burns on May 6,2023, at UFC 288.
31.
Belal Muhammad faced Leon Edwards in a rematch, for the UFC Welterweight Championship on July 27,2024, at UFC 304.
32.
Belal Muhammad won the fight and the title by unanimous decision.
33.
Belal Muhammad was scheduled to make his first UFC Welterweight Championship defense against undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov on December 7,2024, at UFC 310.
34.
However, due to a bone infection in his foot, Belal Muhammad was forced to withdraw, delaying his first title defense.
35.
Belal Muhammad was scheduled to compete against Tarek Suleiman in the no gi co-main event of ADXC 1 on October 20,2023.
36.
Belal Muhammad withdrew from the match on short notice and was replaced by Marvin Vettori.
37.
Belal Muhammad is a Muslim, and an outspoken supporter of Palestine.
38.
Belal Muhammad threw the ceremonial first pitch for the Chicago Cubs on July 28,2021.