{"id":643456,"date":"2025-11-23T15:47:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T14:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=643456"},"modified":"2025-11-23T15:48:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T14:48:09","slug":"belal-muhammad-next-fight-who-is-next-for-the-former-welterweight-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/belal-muhammad-next-fight-who-is-next-for-the-former-welterweight-champion\/","title":{"rendered":"Belal Muhammad Next Fight &#8211; Who Is Next For The Former Welterweight Champion?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Belal Muhammad finds himself at a crossroads after losing to Ian Machado Garry at UFC Qatar. The former welterweight champion has now dropped two consecutive fights after losing his belt to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315.&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ian Machado Garry beat Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision at UFC Qatar Fight night . <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9MyZ62eVhz\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/9MyZ62eVhz<\/a><\/p>&mdash; chasseur (@Loopy1818) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Loopy1818\/status\/1992332976978600022?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>November 22, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>At 37 years old, Muhammad (<a href=\"http:\/\/ufcstats.com\/fighter-details\/b1b0729d27936f2f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>24-5-1 NC<\/a>) needs to make smart decisions about his career moving forward. Several intriguing options exist for his next matchup in the welterweight division. Here, we have summarized some of the most logical picks for the former welterweight champion.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kamaru Usman<\/h2><p>Kamaru Usman, currently ranked as #8 contender, presents an intriguing option given his history and competitive rivalry with Muhammad. The former welterweight champion has been campaigning hard for fights with top contenders recently, including a shot at the title.&nbsp;<\/p><p>A matchup between these two carries significant name value for the promotion. Both fighters share similar wrestling-heavy styles which would create a compelling grappling-focused contest. Usman needs a quality opponent to work his way back to title contention. Muhammad represents that level of competition perfectly for the Nigerian Nightmare.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Shavkat Rakhmonov<\/h2><p>Undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov presents another viable option as he will look to return from his layoff next year. This fight was previously scheduled but fell through due to injuries unfortunately. Rakhmonov&rsquo;s perfect record and finishing ability would provide Muhammad with an opportunity to face elite-level competition.&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#128680;BREAKING: Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov is in the works for October! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ufc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#ufc<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/mma?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#mma<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ufc321?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#ufc321<\/a><br>Per <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jon_Anik?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@jon_anik<\/a> &#128016; h\/t <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realkevink?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@realkevink<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Hh4d5qbe5C\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/Hh4d5qbe5C<\/a><\/p>&mdash; West Till Death (@WestTillDeath) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WestTillDeath\/status\/1926697899888361547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>May 25, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>The Kazakh fighter represents a serious test for anyone at welterweight currently. A victory over the undefeated contender would immediately thrust Muhammad back into title discussions. The stylistic matchup favors Muhammad&rsquo;s experience against Rakhmonov&rsquo;s finishing instincts.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Carlos Prates<\/h2><p>Carlos Prates bounced back from his loss against Ian Garry with a win at <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC<\/a> 322. He could serve as a viable next opponent for Muhammad to regain momentum. Prates is a rising striker in the division with dangerous knockout power.&nbsp;<\/p><p>A win over him would demonstrate Muhammad&rsquo;s ability to handle dangerous stand-up fighters effectively. The Brazilian represents a stylistic challenge that could showcase Muhammad&rsquo;s wrestling advantages.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sean Brady<\/h2><p>Sean Brady, a fighter recently defeated at UFC 322, could also be a potential rematch for Muhammad. Muhammad had won their previous encounter. Brady was previously ranked #2 before his loss to Michael Morales.&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Belal Muhammad TKOs Sean Brady in 2022<br><br>Brady was 29 years old at the the time.<br><br>The last time Colby Covington fought someone under the age of 30 was Bryan Barberena in 2016. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LNirdPgQGi\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/LNirdPgQGi<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Ocelot MMA (@Ocelot_MMA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ocelot_MMA\/status\/1638208860241506306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>March 21, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>Both fighters need bounce-back victories to stay relevant in the title picture. This represents a classic grappler vs grappler matchup that fans appreciate. The winner would regain momentum toward the top.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Move To Middleweight<\/h2><p>Muhammad has previously discussed moving to middleweight, stating <strong><em>&ldquo;Maybe one or two more fights, I think then I could start talking about middleweight and could start talking about double champ status&rdquo;. <\/em><\/strong>With Islam Makhachev now holding the welterweight title, Muhammad had hinted he&rsquo;s not eager to compete while his training partner is champion.&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Belal Muhammad says he&rsquo;d never fight Islam Makhachev:<br><br>&ldquo;Maybe there&rsquo;s 2 or 3 guys that are next in line after this fight&hellip; and then I have a chance to move up to middleweight.<br><br>[Islam] still got some fighters to fight, I still got some fighters to fight. And then, we both could&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cvcJxVZVLw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/cvcJxVZVLw<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChampRDS\/status\/1816139870001299660?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>July 24, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>This loss and the fact that Makhachev is the champion could accelerate his move to 185 pounds significantly. A fresh start at middleweight might revitalize Muhammad&rsquo;s championship aspirations completely.&nbsp;<\/p><p><strong>(Image Credit: Eric Bolte &ndash; Imagn Images)<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Belal Muhammad finds himself at a crossroads after losing to Ian Machado Garry at UFC Qatar. The former welterweight champion has now dropped two consecutive fights after losing his belt to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315.&nbsp; At 37 years old, Muhammad (24-5-1 NC) needs to make smart decisions about his career moving forward. Several [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":643484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1783],"tags":[1868,1967,5359,1786,6728,3717,9579],"class_list":["post-643456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mma","tag-belal-muhammad","tag-carlos-prates","tag-ian-garry","tag-kamaru-usman","tag-michael-morales","tag-sean-brady","tag-ufc-qatar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Belal Muhammad Next Fight - Who Is Next For The Former Welterweight Champion? - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With his title run behind him, Belal Muhammad now faces a pivotal crossroads as he navigates his next fight.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/belal-muhammad-next-fight-who-is-next-for-the-former-welterweight-champion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Belal Muhammad Next Fight - Who Is Next For The Former Welterweight Champion? - The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With his title run behind him, Belal Muhammad now faces a pivotal crossroads as he navigates his next fight.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/belal-muhammad-next-fight-who-is-next-for-the-former-welterweight-champion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-23T15:48:09+01:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Belal-Muhammad-Next-Fight-Who-Is-Next-For-The-Former-Welterweight-Champion0A-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1678\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zaid Quraishi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zaid Quraishi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/belal-muhammad-next-fight-who-is-next-for-the-former-welterweight-champion\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/belal-muhammad-next-fight-who-is-next-for-the-former-welterweight-champion\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Zaid Quraishi\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ccd5901be00586ad6098d47c91b67e29\"},\"headline\":\"Belal Muhammad Next Fight &#8211; Who Is Next For The Former Welterweight Champion?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-23T14:47:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-23T14:48:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/belal-muhammad-next-fight-who-is-next-for-the-former-welterweight-champion\/\"},\"wordCount\":525,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/belal-muhammad-next-fight-who-is-next-for-the-former-welterweight-champion\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Belal-Muhammad-Next-Fight-Who-Is-Next-For-The-Former-Welterweight-Champion0A-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Belal Muhammad\",\"Carlos Prates\",\"Ian Garry\",\"Kamaru Usman\",\"Michael Morales\",\"Sean Brady\",\"UFC Qatar\"],\"articleSection\":[\"MMA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/belal-muhammad-next-fight-who-is-next-for-the-former-welterweight-champion\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/belal-muhammad-next-fight-who-is-next-for-the-former-welterweight-champion\/\",\"name\":\"Belal Muhammad Next Fight - Who Is Next For The Former Welterweight Champion? 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