'It humbles you'… Belal Muhammad shares insight into training with UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov

02/16/2025 05:16 AM

Despite Belal Muhammad having proven himself as the number one welterweight on the planet, he’s always struggled to cope with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The pair of formidable grapplers have shared countless intense rounds inside the gym, with ‘The Eagle’ helping ‘Remember The Name’ hone his craft.

Having elevated his game, Muhammad now believes he could step up a division and beat Dricus Du Plessis.

However, he doesn’t appear overly convinced that he’d be able to handle the Russian.

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Belal Muhammad says Khabib Nurmagomedov smashed him in the gym

In order to get to the level he’s at today, Belal Muhammad had to put in the hard sessions in training.

While he’s currently dominating his competition at the top of the 170-pound division, he’s suffered his fair share of tough rounds in sparring, with the warrior confessing that Khabib Nurmagomedov used to get the better of him.

In an interview with Barstool Chicago, he explained: “It’s way different. It’s just a smaller group of guys that are all killers. There’s not an easy route. A lot of times, you’ll go to gyms, and you’ll know, ‘I feel sore today, so I’m gonna go lighter with this guy’.

“There’s not a light round in that gym. And Khabib, he’s still training, he’s still going hard, he’s smashing me no matter what.

“So, it’s always good because you level up with those guys. It humbles you, right?

“I’m the champion now, [but] they don’t care if you’re the champion. You still have to do the pushups, you still have to do the running with the team, the warmup with the team.”

Islam Makhachev told he has to fight Belal Muhammad by a former UFC star

While Muhammad has a fantastic relationship with Khabib’s camp, the appetite for the American to defend his title against Islam Makhachev is only growing.

In his last trip to the cage, the Dagestani destroyed Renato Moicano with a first-round brabo choke.

His showing was so impressive, that many believe he has no other choice but to move up a weight class in pursuit of another championship belt.

One legend has gone as far as saying that Makhachev is a ‘bully’ if he doesn’t fight Muhammad.