Belal Muhammad (fighter)

On July 7, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 90, Muhammad made his UFC debut, as a short-notice replacement, against Alan Jouban.[7] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[8] Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night honors for their performances.[9]

Muhammad next faced Augusto Montaño on September 17, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 94.[10] He won the fight via TKO in the third round.[11]

Muhammad was expected to face Lyman Good on November 12, 2016 at UFC 205.[12] However, on October 24, Good was pulled from the card after being notified by USADA of a potential anti-doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition drug test sample collected ten days earlier.[13] He was replaced by Vicente Luque.[14] Muhammad lost the fight via knockout in the first round.[15]

Muhammad was a short notice replacement and stepped in to face Randy Brown on February 11, 2017 at UFC 208.[16] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[17]

Muhammad faced Jordan Mein on July 8, 2017 at UFC 213.[18] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[19]

Muhammad was expected to face Jesse Taylor on November 19, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura.[20] However, on September 13, it was announced that Taylor was pulled from the card after being notified by USADA of a potential doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition drug test conducted on August 22.[21] He was replaced by Tim Means.[22] Muhammad won the fight via split decision.[23]

Muhammad was expected to face Niko Price on June 1, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 131.[24] However, Price was removed from the bout on May 22 for undisclosed reasons and replaced by promotional newcomer Chance Rencountre.[25] Muhammad won the fight via unanimous decision.[26]

Muhammad was scheduled to meet Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on September 22, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 137.[27] However, on September 14, 2018 Muhammad was pulled from the bout and he was replaced by newcomer Luigi Vendramini.[28]

Muhammad faced Geoff Neal on January 19, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 143.[29] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[30]

Muhammad faced Curtis Millender on April 13, 2019 at UFC 236.[31] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[32]

Muhammad faced Takashi Sato on September 7, 2019 at UFC 242.[33] He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the third round.[34] This win earned Muhammad his first Performance of the Night award.[35]

Muhammad was expected to face Lyman Good on April 18, 2020 at UFC 249.[36] However on April 4, Good pulled out due to COVID-19 infection.[37][38] The bout was rebooked and eventually took place on June 20, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Volkov.[39] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[40]

Muhammad was expected to face Sean Brady on December 19, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 183.[41] However in late October, Brady had a broken nose and had to pull out of their bout,[42] and he was replaced by Dhiego Lima.[43] Subsequently, Muhammed was diagnosed with COVID-19 during the week leading up to the event and the bout was scrapped from the card[44] and the bout was rescheduled to February 13, 2021 at UFC 258 [45]