Belal Muhammad

I mean, I think Kobe sucks, but... For me, I think that Kobe wasn't... He's just not a good striker. Even with the fights that we see that he was really good at, it was just because he put a good pace on all these guys. And he dictated the pace with RDA and Robbie Lawler, all these guys. But none of those guys really had that type of cardio. When we saw him against Usman...

Usman showed you, all right, he could keep up that pace with Kobe, and then Kobe can't take him down. So it ended up being like a kickboxing match. For Leon, he knew if he dictated the pace with Kobe, Kobe wasn't going to be able to do anything to him. And I don't think the time off, I think, hurt Kobe's distance management because his shot takedowns were terrible in that fight. Like, he didn't...

Usman showed you, all right, he could keep up that pace with Kobe, and then Kobe can't take him down. So it ended up being like a kickboxing match. For Leon, he knew if he dictated the pace with Kobe, Kobe wasn't going to be able to do anything to him. And I don't think the time off, I think, hurt Kobe's distance management because his shot takedowns were terrible in that fight. Like, he didn't...

Usman showed you, all right, he could keep up that pace with Kobe, and then Kobe can't take him down. So it ended up being like a kickboxing match. For Leon, he knew if he dictated the pace with Kobe, Kobe wasn't going to be able to do anything to him. And I don't think the time off, I think, hurt Kobe's distance management because his shot takedowns were terrible in that fight. Like, he didn't...

Yeah, especially because Leon's so good at his lateral movement. And his kicks hurt so hard. So for me, I was like, I can't be in kicking range at all. I think I felt like one body kick early, and I was like, alright, let me step forward on it. So even with my mindset the whole camp, I probably took...

Yeah, especially because Leon's so good at his lateral movement. And his kicks hurt so hard. So for me, I was like, I can't be in kicking range at all. I think I felt like one body kick early, and I was like, alright, let me step forward on it. So even with my mindset the whole camp, I probably took...

Yeah, especially because Leon's so good at his lateral movement. And his kicks hurt so hard. So for me, I was like, I can't be in kicking range at all. I think I felt like one body kick early, and I was like, alright, let me step forward on it. So even with my mindset the whole camp, I probably took...

two to three thousand body kicks and then move forward on each of them and if i backed up at all my coach is yelling at me look what you did here you did this wrong move forward move forward we can't take one step back so i was like i was writing it down i was putting in my head do not take a step back do not take a step back and then it just came out in the fight it came out perfect it was a master plan it really was watching you execute it i was i was just so i was so shocked first of all's inability to deal with you on the feet

two to three thousand body kicks and then move forward on each of them and if i backed up at all my coach is yelling at me look what you did here you did this wrong move forward move forward we can't take one step back so i was like i was writing it down i was putting in my head do not take a step back do not take a step back and then it just came out in the fight it came out perfect it was a master plan it really was watching you execute it i was i was just so i was so shocked first of all's inability to deal with you on the feet

two to three thousand body kicks and then move forward on each of them and if i backed up at all my coach is yelling at me look what you did here you did this wrong move forward move forward we can't take one step back so i was like i was writing it down i was putting in my head do not take a step back do not take a step back and then it just came out in the fight it came out perfect it was a master plan it really was watching you execute it i was i was just so i was so shocked first of all's inability to deal with you on the feet

I think people just underestimate me when they look at me because they say, oh, he doesn't have a bunch of knockouts. But when you look at my fights and you see the way I pieced up a lot of these big names like Gilbert and Sean Brady, I beat them both on the feet. And for the Leon fight, My gym is small, but we have... I work with, I think, who's the best striker in the UFC right now?

I think people just underestimate me when they look at me because they say, oh, he doesn't have a bunch of knockouts. But when you look at my fights and you see the way I pieced up a lot of these big names like Gilbert and Sean Brady, I beat them both on the feet. And for the Leon fight, My gym is small, but we have... I work with, I think, who's the best striker in the UFC right now?

I think people just underestimate me when they look at me because they say, oh, he doesn't have a bunch of knockouts. But when you look at my fights and you see the way I pieced up a lot of these big names like Gilbert and Sean Brady, I beat them both on the feet. And for the Leon fight, My gym is small, but we have... I work with, I think, who's the best striker in the UFC right now?

He's a 55er, Ignacio Balmondes. Like, this kid is a monster. He probably has, like... Monster. You saw, yeah, his spinning heel kick knockout. I'm like... Dangerous dude. I'm sparring with this dude every single day. So I'm like, nothing that Leon was going to throw at me was going to surprise me. Nothing was going to make me uncomfortable. Mm-hmm.

He's a 55er, Ignacio Balmondes. Like, this kid is a monster. He probably has, like... Monster. You saw, yeah, his spinning heel kick knockout. I'm like... Dangerous dude. I'm sparring with this dude every single day. So I'm like, nothing that Leon was going to throw at me was going to surprise me. Nothing was going to make me uncomfortable. Mm-hmm.

He's a 55er, Ignacio Balmondes. Like, this kid is a monster. He probably has, like... Monster. You saw, yeah, his spinning heel kick knockout. I'm like... Dangerous dude. I'm sparring with this dude every single day. So I'm like, nothing that Leon was going to throw at me was going to surprise me. Nothing was going to make me uncomfortable. Mm-hmm.

And for me, if you're beating me up, I want to keep going to you. So for Nacho, I'm like, bro, throw the kitchen sink at me. I want you to throw everything you have in your tool bag at me. So whatever Leon throws, I'm just going to be comfortable in that fire. So for me, it was just nonstop, nonstop sparring, sparring, sparring.

And for me, if you're beating me up, I want to keep going to you. So for Nacho, I'm like, bro, throw the kitchen sink at me. I want you to throw everything you have in your tool bag at me. So whatever Leon throws, I'm just going to be comfortable in that fire. So for me, it was just nonstop, nonstop sparring, sparring, sparring.

And for me, if you're beating me up, I want to keep going to you. So for Nacho, I'm like, bro, throw the kitchen sink at me. I want you to throw everything you have in your tool bag at me. So whatever Leon throws, I'm just going to be comfortable in that fire. So for me, it was just nonstop, nonstop sparring, sparring, sparring.

Even if it's not hard sparring, light sparring, just enough to see everything and have my reaction time. And I think that helps a lot with the way I've been fighting lately.