Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad won’t let the betting odds get to his head going into UFC 315.
Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) finds himself a moderate favorite in his first title defense against Jack Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in their May 10 headliner (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
It’s an unfamiliar feeling for Muhammad, who has often been underestimated throughout his UFC career. He even has top contenders like Sean Brady and Ian Machado Garry picking him to win.
“Yeah, I’m like bro, go back, get away from me, I don’t want the fans,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “I want the doubters, I want the people to tell me I’m going to lose because it just makes me work that much harder. But that’s why I have the circle around me, the teammates around me that keep me level-headed. There is no easy fight in this game, there is no easy win, as people will say it or the fans will say it.
“In my head, I’m going against the best striker in the world. In my head, I’m going against Canelo Alvarez, so I’ve got to train like I’m going against those guys so I don’t look past him, and I don’t take my foot off the gas. I’m still having that underdog mentality. For me, it’s not defending the belt. It’s still fighting for the belt again, it’s still remembering that it took me this long to get my title shot, it took me this long to get noticed by anybody. I’m not going to let it go. He’s not going to take it from me.”
Muhammad got to face off with Della Maddalena in a pre-fight press conference in Canada. It was a pretty cordial encounter, but Della Maddalena has taken a few shots towards the champion in recent interviews. He dubbed Muhammad’s style as boring, and predicted a first-round knockout in their fight.
“Even when he says it, it’s not with confidence,” Muhammad said of Della Maddalena. “He’s mumbling it, ‘Oh yeah, I’m going to finish him in the first round.’ Bro, like, you don’t even believe that. I think that he knows it’s going to be a long night for him, a hard night for him, and the result is going to be inevitable. I’m going to walk through him, I’m going to break him, and I’m going to show the world again why I’m the best in the world.
“People already, ‘Oh, his boxing is this, his boxing is that.’ I’m going to show you that I’m going to outstrike him. I’m going to outbox him. Leon Edwards was supposed to outbox me, kill me on the feet. Now with Jack, I’m going to beat him at his own game. I’m going to use my hands, break him physically, mentally, and he’s going to realize that he should have stayed lower in the rankings. He should have stayed in Australia.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.
