Belal Muhammad's coach 'welcomes' idea of fighting Sean Strickland at 185lbs as welterweight's bicker over title shot
01/09/2024 13:39
As the top contenders bicker over who deserves the next welterweight title shot, Belal Muhammad's coach opens on the fantasy matchups that could one day come to fruition – with the team being eager to silence Sean Strickland in particular.
Following his dominant decision victory over Leon Edwards to claim welterweight glory in Manchester, Belal Muhammad has become the 'prom queen' of the UFC with a host of top contenders vying for a dance with the newly crowned champion.
Belal Muhammad's coach talks potential fight with Sean Strickland
Since securing the title at UFC 304, 'Remember the Name' has been on a media rampage as he takes aim at not only those who previously dismissed his skillset but also those who are in contention for his first title defense.
Yet one fighter who's been in Muhammad's crosshairs of late, albeit one who's not even in the same weight class, is former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
The pair have been embroiled in a bitter war of words for several years, ever since 'Tarzan' posted a rather vulgar statement regarding the ongoing conflict between the people of Palestine and Israel.
In response, Muhammad would call Strickland a "piece of trash" and it seems that those comments from 'Tarzan' aren't sitting well with the newly crowned welterweight champion's team either, who would relish the opportunity to silence the divisive American once and for all.
In fact, in conversation with Sportskeeda MMA, coach Louis Taylor would go as far as to acknowledge how a clash with Strickland would be one of the few that he would "welcome" with open arms – if the price is right.
"That is a 185lb fight that I welcome, you know, Sean has really took a dump on Palestinians and a lot of other people – I'm not going to go down that list."
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Coach Taylor noted that Muhammad would jump at the chance to fight Strickland under the unified rules, especially since there's already a risk of the two of them going at it outside of the UFC octagon.
"But when you see [some] people, Belal's not that guy who you've got to watch in the streets on a Masvidal trip but when it comes to people like Sean, that powder keg can erupt at any time.
"And therefore, I would rather that happens when we get paid for it in the cage."
Strickland himself has been touted by Dana White as the next title contender for Dricus Du Plessis' middleweight belt; although there is a chance that 'Tarzan' could be leapfrogged by the winner of Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev in October.
Coach Taylor on how Muhammad matches up against Shavkat Rakhmonov
Back to the welterweight title picture, and the consensus opinion is that Muhammad's next title fight will come against either former champion Kamaru Usman, or surging contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Whilst watching Muhammad's ongoing feud with Rakhmonov has been highly entertaining from a fans' perspective, how does coach Taylor see a fight with the 18-0 'Nomad' actually playing out?
"Shavkat, again, [his] gas tank is going to be a factor – I think we beat him 3-2 or 4-1 [on points].
"I love people like Shavkat [cause] he's a finisher [and] he is good at it, but if you don't put Belal out, then he's like Jason Voorhees in that he's going to keep coming, and that's what people don't understand."
Coach Taylor noted that whilst Muhammad might not be known for his KO power, that's "your curse that you're not going out – and that's why he punishes people.
"I bet you no matter who the UFC puts in there, Belal's going to be the underdog so keep the betters betting and keep making that money – team Belal all day."
Muhammad previously stated that he'd like to feature on the UFC 310 card in December but knows that he probably would be pushed back if that PPV features the return fight of Conor McGregor.
