Marvin Vettori praises Belal Muhammad for absorbing calf kicks at UFC 258 at the expense of Conor McGregor

UFC middleweight Marvin Vettori commended Belal Muhammad's will power that the welterweight showcased at UFC 258. Vettori's praise was laced with sarcasm as he took a jibe at UFC superstar Conor McGregor.

After Conor McGregor succumbed to excruciating pain due to calf kicks at UFC 257, it looks like many other athletes are integrating leg kicks into their arsenal. At UFC 258, Dhiego Lima also threw a number of leg kicks at Belal Muhammad. However, Muhammad endured the pain and secured the victory via a unanimous decision.

Marvin Vittori lauded Belal Muhammad's efforts and stated that the Chicago native tolerated more damage than what the Irishman could handle in his last fight against Dustin Poirier.

Belal already took way more kick than what mcgregor did 😅Belal is a doog#ufc258

— Marvin Vettori (@MarvinVettori) February 14, 2021

Conor McGregor abandoned his usual Karateka style and took a more boxing intensive approach in the Dustin Poirier rematch. The Diamond chewed away at McGregor's legs with debilitating calf kicks. In the second round, Poirier sensed an incapacitated Irishman and put an exclamation point to the fight by unloading a barrage of punches.

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Why did Belal Muhammad call out Conor McGregor?

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Belal Muhammad expressed his desire to fight Conor McGregor in order to secure the biggest paycheck. Conor McGregor draws the most eyeballs to the sport of MMA, as was evident from his last PPV numbers.

"(In a fight) With him (Conor McGregor), you're going to get the biggest prize: all the money. If that's really the case, I would love that fight. Even now, Dustin Poirier beat him, and instead of asking for a title shot, he is asking (for a fight against) Nate Diaz because he knows you have mouths to feed, and you want to feed your generations, and those two guys (McGregor and Diaz) are going to bring that type of money... But I am still chasing gold (UFC title), and I want to leave my mark in this sport. Gold is always the gold, but if I can get a little money with it, (then) why not?" said Belal Muhammad.

ESPN+ registered around 1.2 million PPV buys for Saturday's UFC 257, sources say. SBJ Media is live: 🔒https://t.co/o6WhouUubY🔒 pic.twitter.com/9ahOJLDMKM

— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) January 26, 2021

UFC 257 became the second-highest selling pay-per-view and the Notorious one is said to have made over $20 million considering his share in PPV points. His opponent, Dustin Poirier, also made $1 million for headlining the main event alongside the Notorious one.