Welterweight Belal Muhammad put himself in the contender spotlight with this finish of Sean Brady at UFC 280 last October. He’s now headed into the UFC 288 co-main event with his eyes on a stellar performance that makes him an undeniable championship challenger.
Muhammad, despite sitting at No. 4 in the UFC welterweight rankings, with Burns one spot behind him at No. 5, would be the logical next challenger to the UFC welterweight championship, right? You would think so, especially considering he hasn’t lost in his last nine outings.
That’s not where he found himself, however. Coming off of his observance of Ramadan, Muhammad was faced with Burns inserting himself as the back-up to the title fight between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington and the next challenger for the belt.
Accepting the UFC 288 bout opposite Burns puts Muhammad back in the driver’s seat. Should he defeat Burns, he’ll reassert his position as the next in line for a shot at the UFC welterweight championship.
Before Muhammad vs. Burns at UFC 288, watch Muhammad take out Bray in Performance of the Night fashion at UFC 280.
Julianna Peña injured, Irene Aldana steps in to face Amanda Nunes at UFC 289
Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady | UFC Free Fight
(Video courtesy of UFC)
UFC 288: Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo
Saturday, May 6, 2023
Prudential Center
Newark, New Jersey
UFC 288 Main Card
- Main Event – Bantamweight Championship: Aljamain Sterling (c) vs. Henry Cejudo
- Welterweight: Belal Muhammad vs. Gilbert Burns
- Women’s Strawweight: Jéssica Andrade vs. Yan Xiaonan
- Featherweight: Movsar Evloev vs. Diego Lopes —
Bryce MitchellOUT - Featherweight: Kron Gracie vs. Charles Jourdain
UFC 288 Preliminary Card
- Lightweight: Drew Dober vs. Matt Frevola
- Light Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Devin Clark
- Welterweight: Khaos Williams vs. Rolando Bedoya
- Women’s Strawweight: Marina Rodriguez vs. Virna Jandiroba
UFC 288 Early Prelims Card
- Heavyweight: Braxton Smith vs. Parker Porter
- Middleweight: Phil Hawes vs. Ikram Aliskerov
- Flyweight: Rafael Estevam vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
- Middleweight: Joseph Holmes vs. Claudio Ribiero
- Bantamweight: Daniel Santos vs. Johnny Muñoz Jr.
Watch Belal Muhammad stop Sean Brady 👊 UFC Fight Video