# Belal Muhammad

Belal Muhammad (born July 9, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Welterweight Champion. As of February 11, 2025, he is #7 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for Bellator and Titan FC.

## Background

Muhammad was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, to Palestinian parents. He has four siblings: an older brother, older sister and two younger brothers. He wrestled at Bogan High School where he had future PFL champion Louis Taylor as his wrestling coach. Taylor was later instrumental in training Muhammad for the latter's amateur career. He studied to become a lawyer and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

## Mixed martial arts career

Shortly after a TKO victory over Steve Carl to become the Titan Fighting Championships Welterweight Champion, and push his record to 9–0, Muhammad signed with the UFC in 2016.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

On July 7, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 90, Muhammad made his UFC debut, as a short-notice replacement, against Alan Jouban. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night bonuses for their performances.
Muhammad next faced Augusto Montaño on September 17, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 94. He won the fight via TKO in the third round.
Muhammad was expected to face Lyman Good on November 12, 2016, at UFC 205. However, on October 24, Good was pulled from the card after being notified by USADA of a potential anti-doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition drug test sample collected ten days earlier. He was replaced by Vicente Luque. Muhammad lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
Muhammad was a short notice replacement and stepped in to face Randy Brown on February 11, 2017, at UFC 208. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Muhammad faced Jordan Mein on July 8, 2017, at UFC 213. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Muhammad was expected to face Jesse Taylor on November 19, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura. However, on September 13, it was announced that Taylor was pulled from the card after being notified by USADA of a potential doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition drug test conducted on August 22. He was replaced by Tim Means. Muhammad won the fight via split decision.
Muhammad was expected to face Niko Price on June 1, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 131. However, Price was removed from the bout on May 22 for undisclosed reasons and replaced by promotional newcomer Chance Rencountre. Muhammad won the fight via unanimous decision.
Muhammad was scheduled to meet Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on September 22, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 137. However, on September 14, 2018, Muhammad was pulled from the bout and he was replaced by newcomer Luigi Vendramini.
Muhammad faced Geoff Neal on January 19, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 143. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Muhammad faced Curtis Millender on April 13, 2019, at UFC 236. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Muhammad faced Takashi Sato on September 7, 2019, at UFC 242. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the third round. This win earned Muhammad his first Performance of the Night award.
Muhammad was expected to face Lyman Good on April 18, 2020, at UFC 249. However on April 4, Good pulled out due to COVID-19 infection. The bout was rebooked and eventually took place on June 20, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Volkov. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Muhammad was expected to face Sean Brady on December 19, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 183. However in late October, Brady had a broken nose and had to pull out of their bout, and he was replaced by Dhiego Lima. Subsequently, Muhammed was diagnosed with COVID-19 during the week leading up to the event and the bout was scrapped from the card and the bout was rescheduled to February 13, 2021, at UFC 258 Muhammad won the fight via unanimous decision.
Muhammad faced Leon Edwards on March 13, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 187. During the second round, Edwards poked Muhammad in the eye rendering him unable to continue. The fight was declared a no contest.
Muhammad faced Demian Maia on June 12, 2021, at UFC 263. Muhammad won the fight via unanimous decision.
Muhammad faced Stephen Thompson on December 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus. He won the bout via unanimous decision.
Muhammad faced Vicente Luque in a rematch on April 16, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 34. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Muhammad faced Sean Brady on October 22, 2022, at UFC 280. He won the bout via TKO stoppage at the end of the second round. UFC Hall of Famer and former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was one of his cornermen for this fight. He received his second Performance of the Night bonus.
Muhammad faced Gilbert Burns on May 6, 2023, at UFC 288. Muhammad won by unanimous decision.

### UFC Welterweight Champion

Muhammad faced Leon Edwards in a rematch, for the UFC Welterweight Championship on July 27, 2024, at UFC 304. He won the fight and the title by unanimous decision.
Muhammad was scheduled to make his first UFC Welterweight Championship defense against undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov on December 7, 2024 at UFC 310. However, due to a bone infection in his foot, Muhammad was forced to withdraw, delaying his first title defense. In February 2025, with Rakhmonov unable to compete due to an injury, it was reported that Muhammad will instead defend his title against Jack Della Maddalena on May 10, 2025 at UFC 315.

## Professional grappling career

Muhammad was scheduled to compete against Tarek Suleiman in the no gi co-main event of ADXC 1 on October 20, 2023. He withdrew from the match on short notice and was replaced by Marvin Vettori.

## Personal life

Muhammad is a Muslim, and an outspoken supporter of Palestine. He has denounced the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis showing support for Palestinians while also condemning antisemitism.
On June 1, 2020, businesses owned by Muhammad's father and cousins in Chicago were looted and destroyed as a result of the George Floyd unrest.
He threw the ceremonial first pitch for the Chicago Cubs on July 28, 2021.
He represents Palestine.

## Championships and accomplishments

* Ultimate Fighting Championship
** UFC Welterweight Championship (One time; current)
*** First UFC champion of Palestinian descent
** Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Takashi Sato and Sean Brady
** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Alan Jouban
** Most unanimous decision wins in UFC Welterweight division history (11)
*** Tied (Rafael dos Anjos & Merab Dvalishvili) for most unanimous decision wins in UFC history (11)
*** Tied (Georges St-Pierre) for second most decision wins in UFC Welterweight division history (12)
*** Tied (Diego Sanchez, Georges St-Pierre, Rafael dos Anjos, Andrei Arlovski) for third most decision wins in UFC history (12)
*** Seventh highest decision wins-per-win percentage in UFC history (80.0%)
** Fourth highest takedown defense percentage in UFC Welterweight division history (89.4%)
** Fifth most significant strikes landed in UFC Welterweight division history (1241)
*** Sixth most total strikes landed in UFC Welterweight division history (1965)
** UFC.com Awards
*** 2024: Ranked #10 Fighter of the Year
* Titan Fighting Championship
** Titan FC Welterweight Championship (One time)
* MMAjunkie.com
** 2019 January Fight of the Month vs. Geoff Neal

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 28 matches | 24 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 5 | 1 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 18 | 2 |
| No contests | 1 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 24–3 (1) | Leon Edwards | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 304 | July 27, 2024 | 5 | 5:00 | Manchester, England | Won the UFC Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 23–3 (1) | Gilbert Burns | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 288 | May 6, 2023 | 5 | 5:00 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 22–3 (1) | Sean Brady | TKO (punches) | UFC 280 | October 22, 2022 | 2 | 4:47 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 21–3 (1) | Vicente Luque | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2 | April 16, 2022 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 20–3 (1) | Stephen Thompson | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus | December 18, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 19–3 (1) | Demian Maia | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 263 | June 12, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Glendale, Arizona, United States | |
| NC | 18–3 (1) | Leon Edwards | NC (accidental eye poke) | UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad | March 13, 2021 | 2 | 0:18 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Accidental eye poke rendered Muhammad unable to continue. |
| Win | 18–3 | Dhiego Lima | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 258 | February 13, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 17–3 | Lyman Good | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Volkov | June 20, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 16–3 | Takashi Sato | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 242 | September 7, 2019 | 3 | 1:55 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 15–3 | Curtis Millender | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 236 | April 13, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
| Loss | 14–3 | Geoff Neal | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw | January 19, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Brooklyn, New York, United States | |
| Win | 14–2 | Chance Rencountre | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes | June 1, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Utica, New York, United States | |
| Win | 13–2 | Tim Means | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura | November 19, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Sydney, Australia | |
| Win | 12–2 | Jordan Mein | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 213 | July 8, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 11–2 | Randy Brown | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 208 | February 11, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Brooklyn, New York, United States | |
| Loss | 10–2 | Vicente Luque | KO (punches) | UFC 205 | November 12, 2016 | 1 | 1:19 | New York City, New York, United States | |
| Win | 10–1 | Augusto Montaño | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Johnson | September 17, 2016 | 3 | 4:19 | Hidalgo, Texas, United States | |
| Loss | 9–1 | Alan Jouban | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Alvarez | July 7, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 9–0 | Steve Carl | TKO (punches) | Titan FC 38 | April 30, 2016 | 4 | 4:07 | Miami, Florida, United States | Won the inaugural Titan FC Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 8–0 | Zane Kamaka | Decision (unanimous) | Titan FC 35 | September 19, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Ridgefield, Washington, United States | |
| Win | 7–0 | Keith Johnson | Decision (unanimous) | Titan FC 33 | March 20, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Mobile, Alabama, United States | Catchweight (174 lb) bout; Johnson missed weight. |
| Win | 6–0 | Chris Curtis | Decision (unanimous) | Hoosier Fight Club 21 | September 13, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Valparaiso, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | A.J. Matthews | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 112 | March 14, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Hammond, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Garrett Gross | Decision (unanimous) | Hoosier Fight Club 18 | November 9, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Valparaiso, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Jimmy Fritz | TKO (punches) | Hoosier Fight Club 15 | April 6, 2013 | 2 | 2:19 | Valparaiso, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Quinton McCottrell | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 84 | December 14, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Hammond, Indiana, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Justin Brock | TKO (punches) | Hoosier Fight Club 12 | August 18, 2012 | 1 | 2:17 | Valparaiso, Indiana, United States | Welterweight debut. |

## Pay-per-view bouts

| No. | Event | Fight | Date | Venue | City | PPV buys |
| 1. | UFC 304 | Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 | July 27, 2024 | Co-op Live | Manchester, England, United Kingdom | Not Disclosed |