3 next opponents for Belal Muhammad after UFC 304 victory

On July 27, Belal Muhammad shocked the world, delivering one of the year's biggest upsets. At UFC 304, in Manchester, Muhammad dominated Leon Edwards by unanimous decision, winning the welterweight title. He won the title at age 36, which is rare for fighters to win titles in those lower weight classes, and in Edwards' home country, where he never lost in before. Muhammad got the better of the striking and wrestling, all while exposing Edwards' lack of skill in some ways. Edwards does not like solid pressure boxing and heavy wrestling, what Colby Covington should have done last time. As the new champion, Muhammad has solid options against which to defend his title.

1. Ian Machado Garry

Ian Machado Garry is an option for Muhammad, as a top contender. Garry is 15-0 currently, and the UFC has been trying to prop him up as possibly the next Conor McGregor. He has a cringe personality, as he loves to mimic McGregor, but he is highly skilled at striking and wrestling, at 26 years old, and is still improving. Garry craves learning new skills from some of the best fighters at the highest, skilled gyms. He has trained at Kill Cliff FC, Team Renegade, and Chute Box, his current gym.

Garry started his MMA career at the Cage Warriors organization in 2019. Two years later, in June 2021, he became the welterweight champion, defeating Jack Grant by unanimous decision, and was awarded a UFC contract, as a result. In November 2021, at UFC 268, he made his UFC debut and won by first-round knockout over Jordan Williams. 2022 was solid for Garry as he outclassed Darian Weeks, at UFC 273 in April 2022, and Gabriel Green, at UFC 276 in July 2022, both by unanimous decision, where he won all three rounds in each fight. 2023 was better as Garry knocked out Song Kenan and Daniel Rodriguez, in which he received a ranking. He advanced his career, as a ranked welterweight contender, defeating Neil Magny, Geoff Neal, and Michael Page, each by decision.

This is the least likely of the three options, as Garry is the lowest ranked out of all the top contenders, at No. 7. He also has not had the most exciting fights recently, with no finishes, along with Muhammad. A title fight with the two together likely would be a tough sell due to lack of excitement, in their current styles. That does not count it out being on the table though if the UFC wants to propel the young Garry to stardom quickly. The idea of a new Irish champion could intrigue the UFC, due to the good history with McGregor that did good business numbers for the UFC.

2. Jack Della Maddalena

This is a solid choice for Muhammad next. Jack Della Maddalena is on a 17-fight winning streak and has some of the best boxing in the UFC. His takedown defense is solid, and he can scramble out of takedowns pretty well. He is 27 and is still improving, all while possessing skills that could give Muhammad some problems. While his team is at Scrappy MMA, Maddalena does occasionally get some sessions in with some fighters from the highly talented City Kickboxing.

Maddalena started his MMA career in 2016 at an Australian organization called Eternal MMA. It was a rough start, to begin with, due to starting his career with two losses where he got knocked out and submitted. Those two losses made him better, though, as he won nine fights in a row, all by finish, including eight knockouts and one submission. Maddalena won a UFC contract on Dana White's Contender series, winning a decision over Ange Loosa in September 2021. After acing his UFC debut with a first-round knockout over Pete Rodriguez at UFC 270, Maddalena went on to win seven fights in a row with major names involved, such as Danny Roberts, Randy Brown, Kevin Holland, and Gilbert Burns.

There is a good case for Maddellana being next for the title shot. Not only is he ranked No. 5, but he earned his ranking by actually beating a top five contender, with a knockout victory over Burns. Maddellana was losing on all the scorecards, though, and the UFC may want him to get another top 5 win, in dominant fashion this time. Stylistically, this could be a sellable fight which is high level, for the UFC to possibly make happen sometime. Regardless, Maddalena is an exciting contender, with great potential, and can give any other top contender problems.

3. Shavkat Rakhmonov

This is probably the most likely option as he has been the most dominant of the top three contenders recently and Muhammad likes his name the most, of the possible contenders. Shavkat Rakhmonov has been taking the UFC welterweight division by storm as he only wins by finishes and has not lost a round in the UFC currently. He is 18-0, winning by eight knockouts and 10 submissions. Besides being the most likely contender, Rakhmonov also looks to be the most threatening contender to Muhammad's new title reign. He trains at Kill Cliff FC, a high-level gym with other welterweight contenders such as Burns, Vicente Luque, and Kamaru Usman.

Rakhmonov comes from Shurchi, Uzbekistan, and is the first fighter, of Kazakh descent, to sign with the UFC. He started his MMA career in 2014, competing in two Kazakh organizations, and was a solid welterweight champion in both organizations. After going 12-0, he signed with the UFC in 2020 and made his UFC debut at UFC 254, in October 2020, where he submitted Alex Oliveira in one round. Rakhmonov went on to finish the likes of Michel Prazeres, Carlston Harris, Magny, Neal, and Stephen Thompson. He is one of the most exciting, rising UFC stars, at 29 years old.

The problem with Rakhmonov is that he has no victory over a top-five contender, but all that is not his fault, as most contenders were either injured or booked. Despite that, his dominance cannot be excused, as he always finds finishes and never loses a round. Rakhmonov submitted Neal, who had not been submitted in 10 years, and Thompson, who had never submitted in his whole career. He is the highest-ranked of the three contenders at No. 3 and the UFC probably likes what he brings to the title picture. Muhammad vs Rakhmonov is one of the best fights the UFC can make before 2024 ends.