Belal Muhammad Aiming to Make a Statement

“I hate losing, and when I look at it and people are like, ‘How do you feel about it?’ it’s like for me, I’m chasing excellence —to be the best fighter, the most complete MMA fighter in the world, so losing that fight tells me we’ve got more work to do,” explained Muhammad, who put together an 11-fight unbeaten and claimed the welterweight title in between his last two losses. “I’ve got to out-work that last person. I’ve got to be a better version than that last person.

“(Following that loss) it was just about bettering myself mentally, not giving excuses, this or that; it was just, ‘Alright, we gotta get better, we gotta do better,’ and now on Saturday night, I get to show better. I get to go out there, smash this guy — especially somebody with a big mouth like that —and then people are gonna be talking about me.

WATCH: Islam Makhachev Names His Next Target At Welterweight

“Every week there is a new fight,” he continued. “There were three welterweight (fights) on that last card, and they’re not gonna be talking about them next week: they’re gonna be talking about me.”

Dispatching Machado Garry would certainly go a long way in helping Muhammad’s chances of getting right back into the title mix, as the skilled contender who just celebrated his 28th birthday earlier this week has only lost once and successfully navigated a main event pairing with Prates in the spring, as Muhammad had mentioned.