Belal Muhammad shares two-word reaction as he brings up Canelo Alvarez in response to popular MMA commentator hailing his striking

It's almost a crime to say that Belal Muhammad is underrated in any facet of the game. From his striking to his grappling to his ring generalship, 'Remember The Name' constantly reminds everyone why he is the UFC welterweight champion. He is simply cut above the rest.

Despite this, the Palestinian-American champion continually has detractors, always downplaying his highest achievements. One example is how people are not giving him the credit he deserves when he beat Leon Edwards for the title in Manchester, England. It's been speculated that the late hour of the fight caused Edwards to not fight to his full potential, hence dropping the belt to Muhammad.

However, not everyone believes this theory, like veteran UFC commentator Jon Anik. The MMA commentator lauded Belal Muhammad's striking in his recent podcast episode, saying:

“I do believe that it was Belal’s [Muhammad's] striking more than the hour of the night that led to Leon’s sort of demise in that fight”

Check out a clip of the quote uploaded to X:

Pleased by this, Muhammad reshared the post and compared his striking to a boxing icon:

"Canelo boxing"

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When Ariel Helwani insisted late timeslot ultimately caused Leon Edwards to drop the belt to Belal Muhammad

The conversation about Leon Edwards dropping the belt to Belal Muhammad because of the fight's late timeslot may have been fueled by veteran journalist Ariel Helwani. In an interview with interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who won the belt on the same night, Helwani insisted that the 5:30 AM timeslot significantly affected the former champion's performance.

Helwani said:

"I promise, I'm not taking anything away from Belal [Muhammad], he won that fight fair and square. He looked great. I will forever believe that Leon [Edwards] lost that fight, in part, because he was fighting at 5:30 in the morning. It was okay for you [Aspinall], you won but I have doubts that the fight goes the same way if it's happening at 1AM or 12:30 as you usually fight."

While Aspinall gave Helwani the space to express his honest thoughts, he did point out that this theory is only plausible to anyone don't fight professionally. He says that it's different from a fighter's perspective and ultimately lauded Belal Muhammad's performance.

Check out the conversation (15:06):