Belal Muhammad says Colby Covington “Doesn’t want to fight” despite multiple offers

ByTimothy Wheaton Feb 15, 2023

Belal Muhammad vs Colby Covington

‘Remember the Name’ Belal Muhammad just wants a fight in the octagon, but the top-ranked welterweight is struggling to find an opponent. Former title contender Colby Covington has been offered this match and declined on multiple occasions.

Belal Muhammad spoke in an interview with Helen Yee Sports, and explained:

“I’m in a rough spot right now … the only guys above me are Khamzat [Chimaev] who’s moving up to middleweight, and then Colby who doesn’t want to fight. So when I’m looking at it, there’s nobody else in line for the title but me … All they [the UFC] presented was Colby. They said Colby was down, then the next week they said Colby wasn’t down. And then they said he was down again. Then they said they can’t find him again, so I don’t know what’s happening with him.” [Transcript courtesy of MMA News]

READ MORE: Exclusive - Chris Curtis' split decision loss to Brendan Allen came down to '15 seconds of bad optics'

See the full interview below:

Belal Muhammad vs Colby Covington?

It would be a battle of top-five ranked welterweights if Belal Muhammad and Colby Covington were to meet in the UFC. Neither fighter has an upcoming fight booked and ‘Remember the Name’ is getting tired of waiting.

Since 2020, Muhammad has gone 6-0 in the UFC with 1 No Contest against the now-champion Leon Edwards. He has notable wins over Sean Brady, Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson, and Demian Maia. He is on track for a shot at the throne but is stuck waiting.

Chaos’ Colby Covington, former interim champion, has been quiet since his last win over Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal assaulted Covington after the fight outside of a restaurant and now the two MMA fighters are engaged in a battle of litigation.

READ MORE: Nate Diaz heaps praise on past foe Leon Edwards: 'I think he's probably the best thing in the UFC right now'

Timothy Wheaton

Timothy Wheaton is a combat sports writer who covers MMA, Kickboxing, and Muay Thai. He has been an avid follower of these sports since 2005. Tim has even covered the UFC, GLORY Kickboxing, and Bellator in person at live events.

With Low Kick MMA, Tim has contributed interviews, articles, and podcasts.

Tim also works with a host of other media sites such as Calf Kick Sports, Sportskeeda MMA, MMA Sucka, Vecht Sport Info, Fighters First, and Beyond Kickboxing. Tim is is the authority on kickboxing and MMA journalist who has covered K-1, PRIDE FC, UFC, GLORY Kickboxing, Bellator, ONE Championship, and plenty more.