Belal Muhammad’s brutal honesty: Why he wants no part of Conor McGregor.

Belal Muhammad is one of the top contenders in the UFC’s welterweight division, and not only has he shown great skill inside the octagon but also openness outside of it. As a fighter who consistently climbs the rankings with a hard-nosed style and unrelenting work ethic, Muhammad has made it clear that he’s here for one thing: He was a multiple time Olympic gold medallist and had won many championship golds. However, when the issue of a possible fight with the biggest star of the MMA, Conor McGregor, is raised, Muhammad’s reaction is quite unexpected. While many of his colleagues are eager for a bout with the Irishman because of the fame, money or recognition that it brings, Muhammad has no interest in fighting McGregor. His reasons are very much individual and moral and they are very much in line with the general idea of MMA.

In this article, I will explain why Belal Muhammad does not want any part of Conor McGregor, looking into his brutal honesty about the fight, his career path, the current state of McGregor’s career, and the ethical issues that are behind his decision. On the way, we will also discuss the culture of money fights in the UFC and how Muhammad’s attitude is different from the general one.

Belal Muhammad: An example of a true fighter’s fighter.

To grasp why Belal Muhammad doesn’t want to share the octagon with Conor McGregor, one needs to get to know the former a bit more. Muhammad is a Chicago native with Palestinian immigrant parents and has always been a fighter in the most literal sense. His UFC career is proof of the hard working man’s attitude where nothing was ever given to him. Muhammad was not a person who became famous overnight or a fighter who became an overnight star after one fight. However, he got to be one of the favorites to win the title by working his way through every fight, and sometimes without much fanfare.

Although not the most technical of fighters with his wrestling background and a rather aggressive, pressure-oriented fighting style, Muhammad may not be the most aesthetically pleasing fighter to watch, but he gets the job done. This has been due to his pressure, his use of takedown shots and his control of range which has made him a tricky opponent for many of the welterweight division. In the course of his UFC career which started in 2016, Muhammad has fought and defeated some tough opponents such as Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque and Demian Maia among others. He has gradually climbed the ladder in the division, something that has been attributed to good strategies and game plans, plus the spirit of determination.

However, it is not only the fighting style of Muhammad that has attracted people’s eyes. He is a man who does not shy away from expressing his thoughts and opinions and for this he is quite a character in the UFC. In his writing, activism for his Palestinian identity, speaking against wrongs in the sport or interacting with fans on social media, Muhammad has always been quite candid. It’s this honesty that perhaps most defines why he wants no part of Conor McGregor.

The Allure of a McGregor Fight: Fame and Fortune

To most of the fighters, the opportunity to fight Conor McGregor is the biggest challenge that one can get. Nevertheless, McGregor is not only an athlete, he is a business, an international celebrity, and the biggest star in the history of the MMA. A fight with McGregor almost always means the biggest paycheck of a fighter’s career. Besides the money, there is the publicity which is derived from the opportunity to fight one of the most popular celebrities in the world. Whether a fighter wins or loses, a bout with McGregor brings a fighter into the lime light in a way that no other fight in the UFC can.

McGregor’s journey to fame is not something new to the public. The Irishman made his entry into the UFC with a lot of attitude and a mouth to match, which made him an instant fan favourite. However, he did not only gain fame with his rants; McGregor also delivered knockouts such as the one that took place against José Aldo where he won the UFC Featherweight Championship in 2015 with a knockout in just 13 seconds. He would go on to become the first fighter in the history of UFC to win titles in two weight classes at the same time, and thus write his name in the annals of the organization.

After that, McGregor has gone beyond the realm of MMA and became a global phenomenon. His boxing, his business endeavors, and the controversies have kept him in the news even as he has only fought occasionally in the UFC. It is therefore not a surprise that fighters in search of fame or a career defining victory will be quick to sign up for a McGregor fight.

Belal Muhammad’s Brutal Honesty: Why McGregor Doesn’t Interest Him

Belal Muhammad, who has been touting a fight with McGregor as the biggest fight of his career, has made it clear that he has no desire to share the cage with the Irishman. Muhammad’s reasons are complex, yet all of them revolve around his role as a fighter and as a man.

First of all, Muhammad has always stated that he wants to fight for the UFC title and not for the fame and money. In his career he has always considered himself as one who has faced the toughest fighters in his weight category and has climbed the ladder of the rankings without any shortcuts. According to Muhammad, a fight with McGregor will not take him any closer to his dream of being a UFC champion. McGregor has not been active in the welterweight division and his recent form is not even close to being title worthy. From Muhammad’s point of view, fighting with McGregor would be a regression in the level of the opponent.

In a candid interview, Muhammad explained his stance: “Fighting Conor McGregor is like fighting a celebrity. It’s not about competition anymore, it is about show. It’s not what I came for. I want to be the best and that means fighting the best in my weight class, not some man who is just living off his fame. ” Muhammad’s words are very different from the words of the fighters who are looking for ‘money fights. ‘

 There is another reason that can also be used to explain why Muhammad is not interested in McGregor and that is the moral and individual concerns with McGregor’s behavior. McGregor has been surrounded by many controversies, legal issues, cases of misconduct and several public spats. In this case, McGregor’s behavior is quite irritating especially for a fighter like Muhammad who values himself as a member of the society and a decent man. Muhammad has expressed his concern with the idea of granting a person who according to him has not shown respect for the sport as well as the principles it entails.

 “McGregor isn’t the same man that fought José Aldo or Eddie Alvarez,” Muhammad said in an interview. “He has become a better brand than a fighter and that is something that I do not like, I want to fight people who respect the sport and are in it for the right reason. ”

 The Downfall of McGregor in Welter Weight Category

 Belal Muhammad has not shown any desire to fight Conor McGregor and one of the reasons is McGregor’s ineffectiveness in the welterweight division. Despite the fact that McGregor has competed in the welterweight division in the past, and in fact has faced Nate Diaz twice and fought Donald Cowboy Cerrone in 2020, he has not been able to solidify himself as a genuine contender in the division.

 The welterweight division is one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC and this includes Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards, Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns and of course the one and only Belal Muhammad. For Muhammad, a fight with McGregor doesn’t have to be rational from the combat perspective. However, McGregor is not even in the title contention at welterweight, and a victory over him won’t help Muhammad in his quest of achieving the championship.

 Muhammad has been very clear that he wants to face the best welterweight fighters and earn his championship opportunity through a grind. He has always fought top ranked opponents who were even tougher than him in the process of the fight, and never backing down from a challenge. For Muhammad a fight with McGregor would be more of a distraction from the main goal of getting to the top, not a step towards it.

 In an interview, Muhammad said, “I have put in a lot of effort to get to where I am in this division to fight for a fight that will not help me get the title. McGregor is a legend, there is no doubt about that, but he is not a welterweight contender. I want to fight the best welterweight fighters in the world and that is not him. ”

 The Culture of Money Fights in the UFC

 Belal Muhammad’s stance on not wanting to fight Conor McGregor also shines a light on a broader issue in the UFC: This is the culture of money fights. Over the past several years, the UFC has been more focused on making the biggest money fights regardless of rankings and the fighters’ records. This has however led to blockbuster events and huge pay checks for some fighters but has also been criticized by purists who argue that the UFC should be trying to find out the best fighter in each weight class.

 McGregor has been at the helm of this change. He has been able to deliver huge pay per view audiences which has exempted him from the conventional ways of getting a title shot or a high profile fight. Other fighters such as Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz, and Dustin Poirier have also benefited from this trend and have secured high paying bouts against McGregor even if they are not the next in line for a title shot.

 To Muhammad, this culture of money fights is annoying. This is something that the fighter of the rank has said, he has climbed the ranks the hard way and therefore he feels that fighters should be paid based on their performance and not based on the number of tickets they are likely to sell or the number of followers they have on social media platforms. Muhammad’s aim is to get the title shot in the ring and not through other means to get a fight of the year payday.

“I’ve always been about earning my spot,” Muhammad said. “I’m not interested in skipping the line just to make a quick buck. I’ve put in the work, and I want my shot at the title because I’ve earned it, not because I’ve talked my way into it.”

 Conor McGregor: A Fighter At The Crossroads

 Although Belal Muhammad has his reasons for not wanting to face Conor McGregor, it is also important to look at McGregor’s situation at the moment. A former UFC champion, McGregor’s career has been rather unstable in the recent past. His last victory was back in January of 2020 against Donald Cerrone and in that fight McGregor seemed to be back to his best stopping ‘Cowboy’ in just 40 seconds.

 However, McGregor’s other fights in 2021 against Dustin Poirier were not very successful as he lost both the fights, the second of which he got a serious leg injury that has kept him out of action to this date. Over the recent years, McGregor has not been very active in the octagon but has been in the limelight for other reasons. Legal problems, conflicts with the public and a long list of scandals have kept his name in the news, but they have also cast doubt on his dedication to tennis.

 To fighters like Belal Muhammad, the decline of McGregor as a fighter is another motivation not to fight the Irishman. Despite this, McGregor is still a big star for the UFC, but his recent performances indicate that he is not the same man who entered the organisation in the mid-2010s. Muhammad, who is on the path of solidifying his status as one of the greatest welterweight fighters of the division, does not see the need to fight McGregor who is way past his prime.

 Conclusion: The Man Who Keeps On Striving for the Best

 In the world of sport where money and fame become the main priorities and the main goals, the position of Belal Muhammad, who does not want to fight with Conor McGregor, looks noble. Muhammad’s candidness about why he doesn’t want any association with McGregor is of a fighter who is very much aware of what he wants and what he will not do just to get into the ring.

 To Muhammad, the end result is to be the UFC welterweight champion and every action he takes is towards that direction. While a fight with McGregor will definitely be lucrative and will give him the platform to reach millions of people across the globe, Muhammad is not keen on taking the easy way out or participating in ‘spectacle’ fights. Instead, he’s willing to fight and beat the best welterweight fighters in the division and earn his title shot.

 With the modern day UFC and the ever growing culture of money fights, people like Belal Muhammad are still out there fighting for the love of the sport and the love of competition. Whether or not Muhammad ever crosses paths with Conor McGregor, one thing is clear: He is determined to become the champion, and that is why he does not pay attention to the possibility of a fight with McGregor.