Belal Muhammad to train in Dagestan for potential title shot

Belal Muhammad Confident Dana White Keeps Word, Expects ‘Mentally Weak’ Leon Edwards at UFC 300

UFC welterweight fighter Belal Muhammad is gearing up for a training session in Dagestan, Russia as he prepares for a potential UFC 300 title bout against Leon Edwards. Muhammad plans to seek guidance from the famed Khabib Nurmagomedov, with whom he shared a manager.

Through his X account, Muhammad retweeted an image of himself and Islam Makhachev at the airport preparing to leave for Dagestan posted by user @Sa_Gwang.

“Belal Muhammad will soon head to Dagestan to prepare for his title fight against Leon Edwards,” the post reads.

This will not be the first time Muhammad makes the journey to Dagestan to train. This time, Muhammad hopes to learn from other top-tier grapplers and MMA fighters in the region, aside from Nurmagomedov.

“I’m planning for sure to go to Dagestan and train with those guys, like you said, to get a new look, to get different feels. Those guys don’t let you take any days off or any easy rounds,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie Radio.

“That’s always perfect for me. Last time I trained with those guys, we got a dominant finish and I plan to do the same thing.”

Dagestan’s distinctive training atmosphere

Muhammad pointed out that training dynamics in Dagestan are very distinctive, with live sessions and intense sparring closely resembling the actual fight.

“A lot of their stuff that we do when we go live or we go hard is like we’re working,” Muhammad said. “Over here, I do a lot of specific drilling with my team, my guys here. When it’s over there, I’ve got to be ready to go. I’ve got to be ready to be in shape. It’s an uncomfortable feeling.”

Drawing a comparison between his usual training routine with his local team and the challenging atmosphere in Dagestan, Muhammad remarked that the unpredictability of new training partners in Dagestan would push him to think on his feet and adapt swiftly.

“For me, when I’m over there with those guys, every single one of those guys is a beast and they all have their own style. Every round, you have that uncomfortable feeling of butterflies in your stomach,” he said.

Speculation about Muhammad’s title shot emerged after Edwards hinted that his third title defense would take place at UFC 300. UFC CEO Dana White said earlier in May that Muhammad would be Edwards’ next title challenger, though he had been noncommittal during UFC 296’s post-fight conference.