A beef between Alexander Volkanovski and Belal Muhammad wasn’t on our bingo card this year.
How It All Started
Things have surely taken a turn following UFC 304, a crowning moment for Muhammad as he won the welterweight title with a decision win over champion Leon Edwards. Volkanovski was there in attendance in Manchester and prior to the fight, Volkanovski joked that he could “save the day” if one of the two fighters pulled out of the 170lb title fight.
Volkanovski said Edwards would be a tough fight but whenever it came to Muhammad, the former champ said:
“This is not disrespectful, stylistically, Belal… you know what I mean?” Volkanovski told The Mac Life, insinuating Muhammad could be a good matchup for him. “I mean, he’s gonna be offended by that – I’m not trying to offend you, but that’s a fight that I believe I could do.
“I believe myself in all the, all, all the time. But Leon’s good. He’s very threatening [in] so many areas, and I’m not saying Belal’s not, but I mean obviously Belal’s a more strategy [type fighter], game plan and calculated. So, that’s compliments. But I mean, that stuff, you need more than that. To be out-strategizing me is, can be very, very hard.”
Muhammad Tells Volkanovski, “I’ll Smack The Hell Outta You”
Of course, you might expect how Muhammad took to Volkanovski’s words of him being an easier stylistic matchup than the man he beat, Leon Edwards. While Volkanovski didn’t mean it to be disrespectful, that’s what the welterweight champion understood it to be during his victory lap.
“Cry! You guys were hating. All these guys wanted to come out, Volkanovski [is like], ‘Man, I think Belal’s a good matchup for me, if I fight him. Shut up, bro. I’ll smack the hell outta you,” Muhammad said on the ‘Remember The Show‘ Podcast.
“All these guys, right? There’s nobody in the UFC that’ll beat me. There’s nobody in the UFC that I can’t look at and tell you my path to victory. I look at all these guys, all these opponents, you keep putting me as the underdog and I’m gonna keep going out there and dominating them. This wasn’t a hard fight. It was an easy fight and I said it was gonna be easy.”
Belal Muhammad responds to Alexander Volkanovski who said prior to #UFC304 that Belal Muhammad was a good matchup for him:
"Volkanovski [said] 'Man I think Belal's a good matchup for me if I fight him'.
Shut up bro, I'll smack the hell out of you… There's nobody in the UFC… pic.twitter.com/5keaAocOmK
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 1, 2024
Volkanovski Dares Muhammad To Keep That Same Energy In Person
Muhammad and Volkanovski are weight classes apart with Volkanovski, a long-reigning champion at featherweight moving up to lightweight only one two occasions – open to more, while he waits for the winner of Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway. That wouldn’t stop Volkanovski from picking a fight with Muhammad in the meantime with “The Great” going after Muhammad on X.
“You have every reason to hate on what I said about you being a good stylistic match up for me but I truly believe that, even after your last fight, you didn’t show me anything different. You still mad because I accidentally missed your call…pathetic! Say “shut up, I’ll smack the s*** out of you” to my face and see what happens,” Volkanovski responded to Muhammad on Thursday.
@bullyb170 you have every reason to hate on what I said about you being a good stylistic match up for me but I truly believe that, even after your last fight, you didn’t show me anything different.
You still mad because I accidentally missed your call…pathetic! Say “shut up,…— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) August 1, 2024
Muhammad would double down against Volkanovski, issuing a four-word response to the former champ.
“Well come find out,” Muhammad wrote to Volkanovski on ‘X‘.
Well come find out https://t.co/CxTVVY54FE
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) August 2, 2024
While Alexander Volkanovski and Belal Muhammad will likely never meet in the UFC Octagon, who knows what will happen the next time they cross paths outside of it.
