Belal Muhammad admits he 'went against the gameplan' in UFC 315 title loss

USA Today

23-05-2025

Belal Muhammad admits he 'went against the gameplan' in UFC 315 title loss Belal Muhammad is happy he proved he could strike with anyone, despite losing his belt at UFC 315.
Belal Muhammad is a man of his word, even if it can sometimes play against him.
Muhammad promised to challenge the narrative in the MMA community that he is "just a wrestler" or "a boring fighter" by standing with skilled striker Jack Della Maddalena for his first UFC welterweight title defense earlier this month. Many took that as just talk to build up the fight, but Muhammad (24-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) followed through and went to war with Della Maddalena for 25 minutes, losing his belt in a unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 315 in Canada.
Muhammad admits he didn't listen to his coaches, as the strategy was to wrestle in the fight, but he's glad he showed the world he can throw down at a high level.
"Obviously, for us, our strategy was to take down Jack, it wasn't to go blow for blow with him, brawl for brawl with him," Muhammad said on "Remember the Show." "But man, it's a weird moment when you're training for something so much, and you're getting better at something, which I think my striking has grown so much. I always said it, and what I was saying in the lead up, I wasn't lying. I can box with him. I can strike with him. I'm not afraid to box with no one."
Despite losing the decision, Muhammad felt he had a lot of success in the fight and thought it could've gone either way.
"I can strike with this guy and people tell me I can't go in there and strike with him," Muhammad said. "Obviously, we lost the fight, but we stood toe to toe, and people can say whatever they want to say. I went against the gameplan, and at the end of the day, I'm going to live with that. But it came down to one round, maybe one exchange that could've swayed the judges that way. So, was my gameplan wrong? It could've went the other way. Could it have been an easier fight? It could've, but at the end of the day, I love to fight."
Muhammad is already starting to do some light training following his championship defeat. He targets an October return to the cage and is open to many matchups. However, he does have his eye on the winner of Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley, and sees that as a real possibility for his next bout.
Muhammad doesn't see himself far from another title opportunity, and feels confident he'll be champion at 170 pounds once again.
"There's still room for improvement, and I'm going to use the fight and improve from it," Muhammad said. "I'm going to gain it again. I'm going to get my belt back. There's nothing that's going to stop me."