Belal Muhammad is targeting a July return against fellow top-ranked UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev.
Muhammad extended his unbeaten run to eight fights earlier this month by avenging his 2016 loss to Vicente Luque. The win bumped him up to No.4 in the rankings and Muhammad thinks he is just one fight away from a shot at the welterweight title.
UFC boss Dana White said Colby Covington is next in line for Chimaev after the Chechen's hard-fought win over Gilbert Burns at UFC 273. Muhammad isn't confident that Covington will take the fight and has campaigned for his shot
“I’m looking at fighting sometime in July but I definitely want to get on the Abu Dhabi card in October. The first time I fought over there it was an amazing experience," he told Mirror Fighting . " I just don’t think Colby is going to take the Khamzat fight and if they need a main event for that ABC card, me and Khamzat will be huge.
Do you want to see Belal Muhammad fight Khamzat Chimaev? Let us know in the comments section below
Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is pencilled in to defend his belt against Leon Edwards in July, whilst the rest of the top five at 170-pounds don't have fights booked. Muhammad thinks Covington won't fight Chimaev as he 'cherry-picks' his opponents.
“I think Colby picks and chooses a lot of his opponents and he usually goes for the easier route. He fought [Jorge] Masvidal off of two losses, [Tyron] Woodley off of three losses and is calling out Dustin Poirier who is a lightweight," Muhammad continued.
"He hasn’t fought anybody off a win in the top ten right now. Me and Khamzat have a better style than Colby to fight Usman, so it gives me more confidence knowing that I can give Usman a better fight."
Covington played down a fight with Chimaev before his win over Burns and criticised him for only having four fights in the UFC. Chimaev is ranked one spot under Covington after just three wins at 170-pounds and, like Muhammad, is one win away from a title shot.
Muhammad has the longest winning streak at 170-pounds other than Usman and Edwards. He thinks if Edwards is unable to make his title fight against Usman later this year, he should get the next shot at the belt.
I just need one more win to get to that title fight, but with Leon who knows. His fights always fall through, so if Usman vs Edwards falls through I think I'm definitely next in line," he added.
