Belal Muhammad doesn’t mind the things Ian Machado Garry has said going into their big welterweight clash this weekend at UFC Qatar, and actually thinks the Irishman isn’t the one creating his own material.
The former UFC champion said during the UFC Qatar media day in Doha that Garry is only “good at reading the script” others write aimed at his opponents, and will have him at shock come Nov. 22.
“I think he’s good at reading the script,” Muhammad said. “His writers, his wife, they’re all writing stuff down for him to say. So he’s good at reading it. But you’re not good at putting it into action. Anybody can have their thoughts, their plans, their future, write it down, but we’re still in the present. And Saturday night, I’m going to change the story.”
Muhammad will compete for the first time since losing the 170-pound title to Jack Della Maddalena in May, his sole loss in a stretch of 12 bouts since 2019, and guaranteed he will stand and trade with Garry for 15 minutes.
“I think I’m the best fighter in the division, complete fighter in the division,” Muhammad said. “He doesn’t think I just want to stand with him. That’s because he doesn’t know, right? Nobody knows. I can do whatever I want in the cage and that’s what I’m going to do to him in the cage, whatever I want.
“So if I want to keep it standing, I’m going to keep it standing. If I want to take it down, I’m going take it down. If I want to make it a Taekwondo match, I’m going make it a Taekwondo match. His only option to win is to run. You’re not going to be able to get away from me when that cage door is closed.”
Asked if it would be a “easier” path to victory to try and outwrestle Garry in Doha, Muhammad sounded confident he can make the fight “easier” in any area.
“Easier? I’m gonna make the fight easy no matter what it is,” Muhammad said. “The people I’m training with are the best in world. I’ve been getting beat up by a 17-year-old — shout out to Alberth Bahamondes — for the last five weeks. This kid is an amazing striker. He’s better than Ian. And the thing is when you’re training with guys like that, you level up in all aspects. So for me, I feel unbeatable right now.
“If I want to make it a kickboxing match, I’ll make it a kickboxing match, and I think it’ll be easy, right? The hard part is over. The hard part was the training, the six weeks, the grinding. Saturday is the reward. This is what I’ve been waiting for, this is what I’ve been working for. Saturday I get to eat.”
Muhammad is friends with Islam Makhachev, the man who just took the belt away from Della Maddalena this past weekend in New York. Asked if he would face the Russian great in the octagon one day, Muhammad said the “goal is always to be the best in the world” but the focus right now remains on beating Garry.
Muhammad’s first title shot came after a long winning streak, and he doesn’t expects anything “easy” for his second chance at UFC gold.
“Nothing was given to me easy, right? And I don’t expect anything to be given to me,” Muhammad said. “So I got to go out there and take it. But first, I got to take Ian’s head. That’s the key, that’s the thoughts, because nothing else matters unless I win this Saturday.”
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