Belal Muhammad recently expressed his opinion about Yair Rodríguez’s deservingness to receive the next shot at the UFC featherweight title. The reigning welterweight champ used a single word to voice his opinion about the issue.
Muhammad’s expression also indicated that he might have kept an eye on Rodríguez’s performance at UFC 314.
Belal Muhammad Agreed Yair Rodríguez’s Opinion on Title Shot
Muhammad’s presence on social media can be felt strongly. The Palestinian-American often uses his accounts to express his views about several noteworthy issues. Muhammad also keeps an active eye on UFC PPV events and is known for providing his predictions about their encounters on his X account, which he calls “Bicks.”
A look at Muhammad’s Bicks for UFC 314 shows that he had predicted Rodríguez to win his UFC 314 encounter against the UFC debutant, Patrício Pitbull. “Remember The Name’s” prediction also came to life as “El Pantera” put up a stellar performance to defeat his Brazilian opponent via unanimous decision.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Rodríguez mentioned that he was confident about receiving a Featherweight title shot next on account of his commendable performance at UFC 314. The Mexican featherweight analyzed various factors related to the encounter, along with hoping for the UFC brass and the reigning champ, Alexander Volkanovski, to consider his case.
Just like Muhammad backed Rodríguez to win his UFC 314 encounter, the current welterweight champ rated ‘El Pantera’ deserving of a shot at Volkanovski’s featherweight gold. In the comments section, Muhammad provided an affirmative reply to the question about Rodríguez receiving a title shot after UFC 314. He stated: “Yes”
Rodríguez Lauded Muhammad as a Fighter and Human Being
A look at Rodríguez’s last three encounters shows that he holds a record of 1-2. After two consecutive defeats, Rodríguez managed to get back to the winning column with a victory over Patrício Pitbull. Muhammad may have supported the narrative to provide Rodríguez with a title shot after his victory. But it might look like an ambiguous move to most followers.
However, there’s an underlying reason behind Muhammad’s backing for Rodríguez. El Pantera collaborated with Remember The Name to train for his UFC 314 encounter against Pitbull. After his training camp, Rodríguez came up with a lot of appreciation for Muhammad’s dedication and humble nature. He said:
“It’s always great to be around Belal, not only because of his expertise and his level of partnership, but also, he’s an amazing human being. That nurtures you as a human being, as well, and helps you to become better, in every sense.”