Belal Muhammad wants Mike Malott. Days after Malott knocked out Joaquin Buckley with a knee in the UFC Edmonton main event, the former welterweight champion used his latest YouTube video to say he’d accept the fight if the UFC puts it together, as Cageside Press reported.
Muhammad didn’t dress it up. “Obviously, when you’re looking at the division, you’re looking at what’s next for Mike Malott, and people are bringing up my name a lot. For sure. The fight definitely makes sense for myself,” he said.
He was also upfront that Malott isn’t his first choice. “When I’m looking at the division, I’m looking at who I want to fight. They know we want to fight [Kamaru] Usman, but I’m not going to sit there and wait,” Muhammad said. He then gave the Canadian his due, pointing to the streak and what beating him would mean: “a win over him puts you in a good spot and puts you back into the mix. And reminds people who you are.” If Usman doesn’t want the fight, Muhammad said, Malott is a yes from his end, and now it’s on the UFC to decide what it wants to do.
Where Both Men Stand
Muhammad (24-6, 1 NC) is in the roughest stretch of his career. He won the welterweight title in July 2024 by beating Leon Edwards, then lost it the following May to Jack Della Maddalena, in Canada, of all places. Losses to Ian Machado Garry and Gabriel Bonfim followed, which makes three in a row for a man who was holding the belt a little over two years ago.
Malott is headed the other direction. The Buckley knockout was his fifth straight win, a run that also includes Kevin Holland and Gilbert Burns, and it pushed his UFC record to 8-1. Few people expected him to finish Buckley, let alone in the fashion he did, and the main event slot in Edmonton gave him the biggest audience of his career to do it in front of.
The rankings put them close. Muhammad sits at No. 7 and Malott at No. 10 in the UFC’s media-voted rankings, and Meta’s AI rankings have them at No. 7 and No. 8. Malott’s next appearance is widely expected to come at UFC 336 in Toronto on January 30, 2027.
Quick Take
I respect how plainly Muhammad laid it out. He isn’t pretending Malott is a dream fight. He’s saying he needs a win over someone hot, and Malott is the hottest name near him. For Malott, a former champion is exactly the kind of name a five-fight streak should earn, and ranked opponents above you rarely volunteer. The risk sits almost entirely on Muhammad’s side, since a fourth straight loss to a guy ranked below him would be brutal. Book it for Toronto. Based on current form I’d lean Malott, but Muhammad has heard that before, and he’s the one asking for it.
