Henry Cejudo: Belal Muhammad stylistically 'the closest person to a guy like Khabib Nurmagomedov'
Henry Cejudo believes Belal Muhammad’s fighting style resembles former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s.
Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC), who’s unbeaten in his past 10 fights, spent his training camp leading up to his fight against Sean Brady with Nurmagomedov and his team in the United Arab Emirates. Muhammad ended up having one of his most standout performances, handing Brady his first-career loss when he stopped him by TKO at UFC 280.
After finishing Brady, Muhammad defeated former title challenger Gilbert Burns to emerge as a top contender. If Muhammad gets his long-desired rematch against welterweight champion Leon Edwards next, Cejudo sees him giving Edwards a tough time.
“It’s going to be a great, competitive fight,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel.. “… Stylistically, the way that Belal Muhammad – what he did to Gilbert Burns and how he did it to him, he’s only gotten better. I will say this: The closest person to a guy like Khabib Nurmagomedov, his name is actually Belal Muhammad. They do the same kind of cross steps. They kind of run and shoot. They do the same kind of feints with that lead hand to eventually level change for the takedown.”
Muhammad’s first fight with Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) in March 2021 ended in a no contest after he was inadvertently poked in the eye and rendered unable to continue. Since then, Cejudo believes Muhammad is the one who’s progressed more as a fighter.
“I’m going to have to go back and rewatch their fight the first time and see how that actually went,” Cejudo said. “I will say this: They both have gotten better, but if there’s one person that I would say that has evolved more than the other, his name is Belal Muhammad. He’s just gotten so, so freaking much better. He’s a freestyle fighter.
“It’s not like he has this crazy, swift technique like Leon or beautiful knees up the middle or front kicks that are extremely dangerous. What he does know how to do is mix his damn fighting. He knows how to level change at the right time. He knows when to bait you to eventually go in for a takedown. He knows when to press and when someone is fatigued and tired, like he did to Sean Brady.”