Belal Muhammad reveals he was dealing with crucial injury heading into UFC 288 against Gilbert Burns

Belal Muhammad has opened up about an injury he was dealing with heading into his matchup against Gilbert Burns. Muhammad defeated Burns via unanimous decision in a welterweight bout at UFC 288 on May 6th.

Gilbert Burns is said to have suffered a shoulder injury early during their pivotal showdown. However, after the fight, Muhammad claimed that he himself was dealing with a pre-existing injury heading into UFC 288.

As reported by ESPN MMA's Marc Raimondi, Muhammad was dealing with an ankle injury. Additionally, 'Remember The Name' re-injured his ankle during fight week.

Belal Muhammad shed light upon the injury in his latest interview with John Morgan of MMA Underground. Muhammad suggested that he hates fighters who blame their lackluster performances on injuries and other excuses.

'Remember the Name' noted that he simply focused on getting through the fight. Recalling his rushed training camp for the short-notice fight, Muhammad said:

"Thankfully, like I said, nothing crazy. It was just, we pushed ourselves in three weeks. We had to go full force right away. And I'm always an over-trainer, an over-worker, an over-thinker. So, we started going full force at it."

The 34-year-old opined that such things happen in the fight game. He highlighted that the adrenaline kicked in and everything went in his favor during the fight. Muhammad added:

"It was a sprained ankle. And there was a swelling around it. And we're using it a lot 'cause we knew we were going to be doing a lot of kicking in this fight. So, it was just like, we've just got to get through this fight. 25 minutes, doesn't matter what type of pain we're going through. We're gonna get through it. And in the end, we'll take all the rest we need 'cause we've got to wait for these two clowns [Edwards and Covington] to fight anyway."

Watch Belal Muhammad discuss the topic in the video below:

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UFC welterweight star Colby Covington on Belal Muhammad potentially getting the next title shot

As per UFC president Dana White, welterweight champion Leon Edwards will defend his title against Colby Covington. It's believed that the Edwards-Covington winner would then defend the title against Belal Muhammad.

In his latest interview with Submission Radio, Covington appeared to be dismissive of Muhammad getting a title shot.

Covington asserted that Muhammad and Gilbert Burns "were fighting for nothing" at UFC 288. 'Chaos' explained that his fight against Leon Edwards will likely transpire towards the end of 2023, which means that Muhammad would have to sit out till early 2024 for a title shot:

"You think he's going to be able to sit out or he has that type of star power to sit out and then call his shots? No.... He's going to have to fight again."

Catch Colby Covington's comments below (5:45):