Belal Muhammad is one of the most dominant fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) today, but is the reigning UFC welterweight champion the biggest cardio king in the sport?
It’s no secret that Muhammad wins his fights on the heels of elite wrestling, top pressure, and a grinding offensive mentality that leaves opponents absolutely exhausted. While it’s not the most exciting fighting style, Muhammad has used it to rack off 10-straight wins inside of the Octagon en route to claiming gold at 170 pounds. He’s currently scheduled to defend his title for the first time against streaking contender Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 next month in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
A major proponent to some of Muhammad’s recent training camps has been former UFC lightweight champion and all-around MMA legend, Khabib Nurmagomedov. The world-renowned “Eagle” has helped Muhammad take his game to the next level and believes there are few who can match the champ’s pace and cardio. In fact, Nurmagomedov is claiming that Muhammad might have the best cardio in the sport right now.
“I believe it will be very hard to beat Belal,” said Nurmagomedov in a recent interview with Adam Zubayraev (see it HERE). “If Maddalena or Shavkat (Rakhmonov) don’t finish him early, Belal is just going to keep pressing. His endurance is really good. In fact, I think it’s the most underrated aspect in MMA today. Belal’s cardio is the best in this division for sure, and maybe even in all of UFC.”
While Muhammad has been a cardio machine over the past few years there’s a real argument to be made that current UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has the best conditioning in the sport today. Khabib probably failed to mention Dvalishvili after the champion just knocked off Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 this past January. Dvalishvili took his cardio game to new heights in that fight to secure his first-ever UFC title defense and push his current win streak to 12.
At this point, it’s up to the fans to decide who has the best cardio in UFC. Picking between Muhammad and Dvalishvili is probably a good start.
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