Belal Muhammad believes the UFC should introduce more weight classes.
Muhammad (24-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC), who lost his welterweight title to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in May, says adding more weight divisions—particularly at the higher end—could help extend the careers of many of the sport’s top athletes.
“Do I think the UFC needs more weight classes? I do”, the former champion said in a video posted to his YouTube channel. “I think that there's a lot of guys that are just stuck in that middle zone from 155 to 170, 170 to 185. There's a lot of in-betweeners. I think it'll give more guys more opportunities to fight longer, to fight multiple times a year.
“The weight cut kills a lot of people. I know a lot of guys that kill themselves. But even if you add weight classes, I think higher guys are going to try to go lower. It's still going to be a bunch of mess, but you're going to get a lot more title fights. So why not add more weight classes?”
Between 2016 and 2024, “Remember the Name” suffered just one loss in sixteen UFC appearances—a run that culminated in him capturing the welterweight title in July of last year.
Muhammad credits much of his success to his decision to train with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, calling it a major turning point in his career. In hindsight, he says he wishes he had made the move even earlier.
“If I had to start MMA all over again, I'd go to two or three years of Dagestan and forget about it,” Muhammad said. “Nah, I mean, for me, I never liked looking back in the past. For a lot of people that always tell me if I'm starting MMA late, if I'm doing it starting now, what would I do? What would I put my kids in? It's definitely wrestling. Wrestling is the king of the sport. It's the hardest thing that builds discipline. It builds structure and it builds your strength. You're using your body. You're going one-on-one. There's nobody to blame but yourself. So, for these young kids out there, parents, put them in wrestling. I think that's the best sport for them.”
