UFC welterweight veteran Stephen Thompson was impressed by what he saw from his former opponent Belal Muhammad on the feet this past weekend.
Muhammad emerged from enemy territory with the 170-pound championship in his possession after upsetting the odds to bring Leon Edwards’ reign to a sudden halt at the UFC 304 pay-per-view.
Headlining the event, which played out inside the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England, “Remember the Name” made good on his frequent vows to dominate “Rocky” in their rematch.
For large parts of their contest, Muhammad utilized his takedowns and smothering wrestling game to control Edwards. But it wasn’t just on the ground where he put in solid work.
Amid laughter regarding the challenger and his team’s striking confidence, Muhammad showed clear development in that area, and he even appeared to have the champ hurt in some exchanges.
Thompson Highlights Where Muhammad Had Surprising Striking Success Against Edwards
During a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, Stephen Thompson broke down the UFC 304 headliner between Edwards and Muhammad round by round.
As one of the division’s top strikers, a mantle he’s long shared alongside the likes of “Rocky,” the former two-time title challenger played close attention to the standup exchanges between the pair.
In that realm, Muhammad certainly went above and beyond expectation, and “Wonderboy” puts that down to three main techniques.
“In the beginning, there was a few striking exchanges. This was something I also noticed in the third round. Three techniques, striking techniques, that really showcased Belal’s striking and really showed his dominance in this fight,” Thompson said. “Number one, Belal Muhammad’s jab. He was piecing him (Edwards) up with that jab! It was so fast. Leon Edwards had a hard time dealing with it, man.
“When Leon decided to jab back, it was the second technique that really frustrated Leon Edwards, and that was his check hook. Normally you don’t see that from the shorter opponent. … Every time Leon Edwards would jab, Belal Muhammad would come over the top of that jab with the check hook, landing that check left hook, which is super frustrating (to be on the receiving end of),” Thompson continued. “And the third technique was his uppercut. He was uppercutting the crap out of Leon Edwards the entire fight.”
Muhammad was quick to comment on his striking display in the aftermath of the UFC 304 headliner, poking fun at those who had mocked his coach’s comparison to Canelo Álvarez’s Mexican-style boxing.
“Remember the Name” will now look to showcase similar skills and development in that area when he returns to the Octagon, with the expectation being that he’ll defend the belt for the first time against the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov.
