There's certainly no love lost between UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) and his counterpart at 170 lbs, Belal Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC).
Earlier this week Muhammad, who won the welterweight title when he outpointed Leon Edwards at UFC 304 last July, floated the idea of him moving up a weight class to challenge for Du Plessis's title, and he had plenty to say about the current crop of fighters who occupy the top spots in the division.
"I'm two fights away from being able to challenge (for the title) at 185 and saying, 'Hey, I want to be double-champ'", Muhammad said during an appearance on Barstool Chicago's The Stretch podcast.
He also referenced Du Plessis's recent title defense at UFC 312 in Australia. "I think 185 is probably the easiest weight class (to fight in), besides Khamzat (Chimaev)", he continued. "Like, if you look at that main event, you're like, 'Bro, Strickland and Du Plessis suck!'".
Du Plessis Fires Back At Muhammad
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show this week, Du Plessis shut down any possibility of a superfight against "Remember The Name", and was very scything in his opinion on the current welterweight champion.
"I like how he acts as if he has a choice to ever go up to 185", the South African scoffed to Helwani. "The UFC will never let him. If he wants to do that, he would have to, you know, abandon his belt. He would give up his belt, vacate, and go up to 185. And there's no way they give him a direct title shot. There's no way. The UFC doesn't even like Bilal Muhammad. What makes him think that? He hasn't even defended his belt once".
Helwani pressed the issue, and asked "Stillknocks" how a hypothetical matchup between the pair might turn out.
"f I fight Bilal Muhammad, it would be unfair" he responded. "I mean, have you seen the size of the man? What is he going to do? Is he going to get somebody to help him? Is he going to sit on somebody's neck? How is it going to work? He's the smallest. I couldn't believe that he's at 170 when I saw him. I couldn't believe that he fights at 170".
Helwani, still probing for a prediction, asked, "Just for fun, how do you think that fight goes?", to which "Stillknocks" responded, "I step on his head, and it's over".
