Belal Muhammad does not believe Colby Covington should be in the welterweight title mix.
After impressing at UFC 263 by defeating UFC veteran Demain Maia via unanimous decision, Muhammad took a step closer to hopefully getting a title shot in the welterweight division. Now ranked in the top ten, Muhammad is hoping to get a big-name fight to get a title shot. That name being Covington, who is the #1-ranked welterweight contender who Muhammad believes is not fit to challenge for the title.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Muhammad expressed his bewilderment on the possibility of Covington receiving a title shot.
“I still don’t understand why Colby’s getting the title fight,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “Yeah, it was a great fight, but you got your jaw broken and you’ve been sitting on the sidelines ever since that fight.”
Muhammad was referring to Covington’s last title fight back in December 2019 where current welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman TKO’d the American in violent fashion. A fight in which he also suffered a broken jaw. Since the title loss, Covington has only recorded one win where he finished the former welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley in a dominant performance back in September 2020. Despite just fighting once after his loss to Usman, UFC president Dana White seems to be in favour of Covington being next in line for a title shot.
“Usman fought three times since that fight, and you’re just sitting out,” Muhammad said. “It’s not like you’re a huge pay-per-view draw. It’s not like if I’m Usman, I’m like, ‘Yeah, let me get that Colby fight, I’m gonna get 800,000 pay-per-views.’ The first one did 200,000 pay-per-views, so it’s not like you’re gonna make a big payday with that, regardless.”
Muhammad vehemently expressed his desire to fight Covington next, more than his thirst to get a rematch with Leon Edwards due to their fight ending in no-contest. Muhammad explained his scorn for “Donald Trump’s Favorite Fighter” as the motive to want to fight him.
“I want Colby more than anybody,” Muhammad said. “The hatred I have for that guy is levels above Leon. Of course I want Leon back just because the way that one ended, but Colby’s still a level above him.”
Do you agree with Muhammad that Colby does not deserve the title fight next?
