UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has stated that he would rather not fight lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, citing the strong bond they share as training partners. The two fighters have trained together with former champ Khabib Nurmagomedov numerous times.
Makhachev plans to continue chasing his goal of becoming a dual-champion before retiring. Muhammad believes he can notch a couple of title defenses and then move up to middleweight for an opportunity at winning another title. He sees this as a seamless transition, given that his walk-around weight is around 190 pounds, which wouldn’t be an issue in the middleweight division.
In contrast to Makhachev’s views on unifying the titles, Muhammad expressed doubt about the matchup, calling it “different” and unlikely due to their unique relationship.
Source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2025/02/ufc-news-belal-muhammad-will-vacate-welterweight-title-instead-fighting-islam-makhachev