Skip to main content

Belal Muhammad: Gilbert Burns 'doesn't know what I'm gonna bring to the table' at UFC 288

Belal Muhammad is confident Gilbert Burns will have a hard time dealing with his style at UFC 288.

Muhammad (22-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) takes on Burns (22-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) in a five-round co-main event May 6 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Unbeaten in his past nine fights, Muhammad has emerged victorious against multiple specialists. He thinks his ability to adjust against different styles will throw Burns off.

“I think that matchup, stylistic-wise, like I fought the best grappler in the division with Demian Maia, I fought the best striker in the division with ‘Wonderboy,’ I fought the guy who knocked me out and his training partner in Luque, and I beat Luque and I fought the new up-and-coming hot star, strongest guy in the division in Sean Brady,” Muhammad said on “The Schaub Show.” “I fought every single style, and I don’t think Gilbert’s fought anybody like me.

“I don’t think Gilbert’s fought anybody that’s gonna push it like me, move like me, adjust like me, make in-fight adjustments like (me). You see me fight backward, you see me fight forward, you see me fight laterally. He doesn’t know what I’m gonna bring to the table. I know what he’s gonna bring to the table, because I’ve been watching him, and he doesn’t really change his game plan or his style up. And this being a short-notice fight, there’s not a lot of strategy that comes in it from his side. It’s like, ‘Well, I’m gonna do this because I’m good at it,’ but I’m better at what you’re good at.”

Muhammad had been lobbying for a title shot but was passed up when UFC president Dana White declared Colby Covington the No. 1 contender. While Muhammad isn’t happy he was leapfrogged, he sensed a feeling of recognition from the fans.

“That was the cool thing about the whole situation,” Muhammad said. “Them giving the shot to Colby, I think it, like, worked out better for me because that’s when the fans started being like, ‘All right, well, bro, that doesn’t make any sense at all. This guy’s on an eight-fight winning streak. He has history with Leon. What else does he need to do?’ Even the haters, I was getting so many messages, like, ‘I hate you, but you deserve the title fight.'”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.



from MMA Junkie https://ift.tt/Noy8DpT
via IFTTT

Labels

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Video: Oli Thompson lands devastating first-round knockout punch on Aleksei Oleinik in Russia

Aleksei Oleinik returned to action for the first time since his UFC exit, but things did not go in his favor. In the main event of REN TV Fight Club at Dynamo Volleyball Arena in Moscow, Russia, Oleinik (60-17-1 MMA) faced fellow UFC veteran Oli Thompson in a heavyweight bout. The result was a violent finish that left Oleinik staring up at the lights. Thompson (21-16 MMA) unleashed a crushing right hand that sent Oleinik crashing to the canvas with 35 seconds remaining in the opening round. Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter ): Oli Thompson destroys Alexey Oleynik with a massive right hand in the first round pic.twitter.com/AdWy25dQxR — caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) May 26, 2023 Thompson, 43, returned to the win column for the first time since 2020, snapping a four-fight losing skid. His last victory was also a first-round stoppage; a 23-second knockout of Szymon Bajor at Fight Exclusive Night 28 on June 13, 2020. Oleinik, 45, competed in his final UFC bout in Octo...
Read more

Henry Cejudo: 'I still don't see Sean O'Malley as the best in the world' ahead of UFC 299

Henry Cejudo is not sold on Sean O'Malley as UFC bantamweight champion. O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) knocked out Aljamain Sterling to become 135-pound champion at UFC 292, whereas Cejudo is coming off a close title loss to Sterling at UFC 288 . O’Malley will make his first title defense against Marlon Vera in the UFC 299 headliner on March 9, and Cejudo is still adamant that “Chito” beats O’Malley again – despite being a sizable underdog. “I still don’t see Sean O’Malley as the best in the world,” Cejudo said on Daniel Cormier’s YouTube channel . “I don’t. I do believe ‘Chito’ Vera is going to beat him. You have good defense, you walk that dude down, you kick his freaking legs – he still has that wide leg – you kick his legs, you just bring the fight to him and grit. “This is what Sean O’Malley will do: He’ll look at the clock because he throws a lot of power. He is precise, but he throws a lot of it. I would bet the house on ‘Chito.’ Once I beat Merab (Dvalishvili), I’m goi...
Read more

Jim Miller had no problem accepting short-notice replacement Jared Gordon: 'Business as usual'

LAS VEGAS – With over 50 professional MMA fights, Jim Miller has been through it all, which has brought a level of comfort few have in this sport. That’s why when the UFC called with Jared Gordon as a replacement opponent for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 45, Miller (35-17 MMA, 24-16 UFC) had no problem saying yes. At this point, there’s little the UFC lightweight veteran hasn’t seen, and he expects to be ready Saturday. “(It’s) business as usual,” Miller told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 45 news conference. “That’s three in a row that opponents drop out like two weeks or less for the event. And I think it’s a total of nine times in my career with the UFC, so more like 25 percent. But yeah, business as usual. “I train to be the best fighter that I can be every out. At this point I’ve fought everybody from the top lanky 6’4” lefties, to guys my height, and righties and grapplers. So I just appreciated when guys are willing to step up because there are a lot of fighters that say...
Read more