Belal Muhammad has made a bold claim ahead of UFC 315.
Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) defends his welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the May 10 main event (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Muhammad outstruck Leon Edwards, and took him down nine times when he dethroned him at UFC 304. He’s confident that he can go toe-toe-toe against Della Maddalena’s sharp hands – for the entire fight.
”I’m going to go in there, I’m going to outbox Jack,” Muhammad said on “The Coach And The Casual” podcast. “I’m not going to shoot one takedown, and I’m going to show him the meaning of Canelo hands. I’m going to show the UFC fighters, the fans, that I’m the best boxer in the UFC, the best boxer in the welterweight division.”
Muhammad acknowledges that he has a grappling advantage over Della Maddalena, but knows he won’t be easy to keep down.
“I think I can take him down, but for me, I don’t like to underestimate guys,” Muhammad said. “He’s had fights where guys took him down, but he keeps going. Even that last fight with Gilbert Burns, I thought he was losing up until that last 30 seconds, so it tells me he has heart. He’s never going to quit or give up on himself even if he gets taken down.
“I’ve got to be ready to go a hard pace and be ready for him to match it. I think he gets a lot of guys because he pressures them, but the difference is, when you’re going against another pressure fighter that gives more pressure than you, then you’re going to have to back up. Then you can’t really box going backwards.”
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