Belal Muhammad Reflects On UFC 315 Title Loss To Jack Della Maddalena

Belal Muhammad’s title run ended on Saturday night when he dropped a unanimous decision to Jack Della Maddalena in the main event of UFC 315. The UFC welterweight title fight was Muhammad’s first outing since winning the belt with an upset victory over Leon Edwards in July 2024. Muhammad released a statement after UFC 315.

Belal Muhammad’s Statement Following UFC 315

The now former champion wrote on X:

“Allah’s plan is the best plan. Alhamdillah for everything. Thank you to all my supporters. I been here before and I’ll be back.”

Belal Muhammad’s Road To The UFC Welterweight Title

Belal Muhammad (24-4-0-1) joined the UFC with a 9-0 record. Not long after Muhammad claimed the Titan FC welterweight crown, the UFC came knocking. Muhammad signed with the promotion in 2016. At the time, he was 27. Bloody Elbow described him as, “In the cage he is largely a volume puncher, tending to work at the edges of range keeping a constant jab going and working behind it. He does well to work a kicking game in with his boxing, and puts some real power behind those kicks, but the focus is definitely on being a combination puncher. To that end, Muhammad does a good job feinting and changing rhythm, to keep his opponent from guessing his timing too easily.

“Muhammad uses his footwork well at range, circling away, maintaining distance and not walking himself into the pocket. As such he’s got pretty solid takedown defense. His focus is on accuracy and timing, and he rarely puts himself in a bad position to be taken down. Just because of his style, Muhammad hasn’t been much of a finisher to date in his MMA career, but he’s got the kind of style that’s great for breaking down opponents over time.”

At first, Muhammad had a rough go of things in the UFC. He went 1-2 with his losses, a decision to Alan Jouban, and a knockout setback at the hands of Vicente Luque, bookending a TKO victory over Augusto Montaño. The loss to Jouban, Muhammad’s UFC debut, earned the combatants “Fight of the Night” honors.

After the loss to Luque, Muhammad won four straight decisions. That winning streak ended in 2019 when Geoff Neal topped Muhammad via decision.

Following the loss to Neal, Muhammad went 4-0. That run put him in the main event of UFC Vegas 21 opposite Leon Edwards. At the time, Edwards was the No. 3 competitor in the official UFC welterweight rankings, while Muhammad checked in at No. 13. Edwards was a -270 betting favorite, while Muhammad was the +220 betting underdog.

The contest did not last long as Edwards poked Muhammad in the eye 18 seconds into the second round. The eye poke left Muhammad unable to continue, and the fight was ruled a no contest.

Over the next two years, Muhammad rang up five more victories against progressively tougher competition. He defeated Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, and Gilbert Burns during that run. The triumph over Burns earned Muhammad the No. 2 ranking in the division and a date with Edwards at UFC 304. Edwards was the reigning UFC welterweight champion at the time and was looking to make a third defense of that belt against Muhammad. Edwards was on a 12-fight unbeaten run when he stepped into the Octagon as the -265 favorite over the +215 Muhammad.

After the fight, which Muhammad won via decision, I wrote, “Belal Muhammad had the perfect game plan for Leon Edwards at UFC 304. Not only did he and his team have that strategy mapped out, but Muhammad seamlessly executed that plan of attack.

Muhammad was booked to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310, but a bone infection prevented Muhammad from competing on that card. With Rakhmonov unable to compete at UFC 314, the UFC opted to book Muhammad against Della Maddalena in Montreal.

The loss to Della Maddalena ended Muhammad’s 11-fight unbeaten streak and UFC championship reign. As one can see from his response following UFC 315, Belal Muhammad seems to be taking the setback in stride.