UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has declared that in his opinion middleweight is the easiest division in the UFC, and it’s tempting him to consider moving up in a bid to win a second title.
In fairness, Muhammad does acknowledge that Khamzat Chimaev is a real threat at 185lbs, but that aside he’s not impressed with the level of competition there.
“I think 185 is probably the easiest weight class — besides Khamzat. When you look at that [UFC 312] main event, you’re like, ‘Bro, Strickland and du Plessis suck,” Muhammad told Barstool Chicago.
The 36-year-old Muhammad is currently 11-fights unbeaten at 170lbs, but he’s yet to defend the title he won by defeating Leon Edwards in the summer of last year.
And there’s no shortage of potential opponents looking to challenge Muhammad for the belt, including the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov, and a potential superfight with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, who has talked of his interest in fighting for the 170lb belt.
However, it seems Muhammad finds the opportunity of a fresh, and potentially easier, challenge at 185lbs more appealing.
“For me, I’d rather go to 185 and let [Makhachev] just take 170,” Muhammad said.
“Since I’ve already had to fight my way up to 170 — I’ve beaten five top-10 guys — I’m two fights away from being able to challenge for [the middleweight title] and saying, ‘Hey, I want to be double champ.’ “
It seems to be the trend these days for fighters to win a title and then immediately look to leverage that success to try to become a double champ, but there’s still a lot to be said for the old adage that you’re not truly a champion until you’ve defended the belt.
