Belal Muhammad's "pillow hands" can't knock Dricus du Plessis out, says UFC welterweight on six-win streak: "You don't have the tools nor the weapons"

A surging UFC welterweight fighter recently took a swipe at Belal Muhammad's ambitions to move up to the middleweight division. 'Remember the Name' has been grappling with the difficult choice of whether to defend his 170-pound title against his training partner and UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, ever since dethroning Leon Edwards.

During a recent interview with Barstool Chicago, Muhammad once again emphasized that he has no desire to fight Makhachev. He stated that if he were to test himself against another champion or move to a different weight class, it would be easy for him to compete at 185 pounds, particularly against divisional titleholder Dricus du Plessis.

Check out Belal Muhammad's comments below:

However, Joaquin Buckley believes moving up to a higher-weight class isn't a wise move for Muhammad. Having previously competed at middleweight, 'New Mansa' cautioned the 36-year-old Chicago native in a video on his YouTube channel, insisting that he doesn't possess the required skills or attributes to contend with fighters in a heavier division:

"Belal Muhammad talking about he wants to move up, he could be a double champ. Belal, I'm just going to warn you right now that you don't have the tools nor the weapons to beat a person like Dricus. You're not going to be able to take buddy down. I'm just being honest with you, bro, you're not going to be able to take buddy down, nor will you be able to knock him out with them pillow hands, no matter how much you think that."

Check out Joaquin Buckley's comments below (12:45):

'Remember the Name' was set to make his first title defense against the undefeated No. 2 ranked contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov. The two were scheduled to clash at UFC 310 in December, but Muhammad was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a bone infection.

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Belal Muhammad reveals his strategy to beat Dricus du Plessis in potential champ vs. champ fight

Belal Muhammad is fully confident that he has a legitimate chance of defeating Dricus du Plessis in a potential matchup, having closely analyzed the reigning middleweight champion’s performance against Sean Strickland at UFC 312 earlier this month.

Following UFC 312, 'Remember the Name' took to X to reaffirm his aspirations of becoming a two-division champion, outlining a detailed strategy for how he would approach a fight with du Plessis should they ever meet in the octagon.

Check out Belal Muhammad's post below: