Belal Muhammad established himself as an undeniable No. 1 welterweight contender on Saturday when he defeated Gilbert Burns in the short-notice UFC 288 co-headliner.
After both men agreed to the fight on 16 days’ notice, Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) earned arguably the biggest win of his career with a unanimous decision over Burns (22-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) in the high-stakes matchup at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Muhammad is now unbeaten in his past 10 fights at 170 pounds, and has a serious argument for the next title shot.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Muhammad’s victory over Burns at UFC 288.
MMA Junkie
#UFC288 results: Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) def. Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
Full coverage: https://t.co/ZcX3pEy2It pic.twitter.com/zctucIAJuw
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) May 7, 2023
UFC
Unanimous for @BullyB170! 🙌
He secures the W over Gilbert Burns in our #UFC288 co-main! pic.twitter.com/OC7RqFc82X
— UFC (@ufc) May 7, 2023
UFC
Belal still has problems with New Jersey 😂
He makes it clear who's next on his list after #UFC288! pic.twitter.com/NLANqrCH9Z
— UFC (@ufc) May 7, 2023
Conor McGregor
That was a very poor bout. Piss poor.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 7, 2023
Sodiq Yusuff
Wtf are they booing belal
— Sodiq Yusuff (@Super_Sodiq) May 7, 2023
Lauren Murphy
Man Belal always comes with the game plan. Left kick this time. Circled into the shot against Luque. Stayed in a real low stance and 1-2’d Brady. He has a plan and he sticks to it, so smart#UFC288
— Lauren Murphy (@LaurenMurphyMMA) May 7, 2023
Sergio Pettis
Congrats @bullyb170 💪🏽💰
— Sergio Pettis (@sergiopettis) May 7, 2023
Chase Hooper
New Jersey is rowdy tonight. What are they even booing?? #UFC288
— Chase Hooper (@chase_hooper) May 7, 2023
Alan Jouban
Belal going heal to build for the title fight! 😂 #UFC288
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) May 7, 2023
Nolan King
50-45 Belal on my scorecard. Could be 49-46 if you give Gilbert the 4th.
Either way – technical domination by Belal Muhammad. Props.
I'll be interested to hear what happened with Burns' arm. #UFC288
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) May 7, 2023
Renato Moicano
Is something wrong with Gilbert shoulder ?! #UFC288
— Renato Moicano UFC (@moicanoufc) May 7, 2023
Farah Hannoun
Time to give Belal Muhammad his credit. Three rounds or five, he was a man on a mission tonight. Pressure, volume, constant stance switches 👌🏻 #UFC288
— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) May 7, 2023
Mike Bohn
Not a thrilling fight here from Muhammad and Burns but not sure what people were expecting. They signed for this 16 days ago. Not proper prep for a bout of this magnitude. #UFC288
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) May 7, 2023
Teddy Atlas
Today on ABC I picked Muhammad & Cejudo, half way there. Either way this fight should be intriguing. #UFC288
— Teddy Atlas (@TeddyAtlasReal) May 7, 2023
