Team Khabib Caught in Crossfire as Islam Makhachev’s Wish Granted at the Expense of Belal Muhammad’s Mistake at UFC 315

Most of the fight fans were pretty disappointed with the outcome of the fight between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. You see, if ‘Remember The Name’ had won the bout at UFC 315, we could have gotten to see the battle between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria with the lightweight championship belt on the line. That’s because Muhammad and Makhachev are close associates and did not wish to fight against each other. However, one error from the Palestinian star’s side snatched away his championship title and gave the Dagestani a way to become a double champion. 

The one thing that separated Muhammad from most of the fighters was his strong wrestling game. But coming into Bell Centre to defend the welterweight title, he promised not to shoot a single takedown. He believed that he could secure a win on his feet. But boy, was he wrong. JDM has won 18 fights in his MMA career, and 12 of them have come via KO/TKO. True to its reputation, his striking left a nasty cut on Muhammad’s upper lip and broke his orbital bones. 

Following the events of UFC 315, the former UFC contender, Derek Brunson, weighed in on the mistakes that the Chicago resident made during the fight. Previously, he tweeted the difference between Muhammad and Bo Nickal’s reason for not opting to wrestle. He claimed that while Muhammad wanted to prove himself, Nickal was concerned about his opponent’s wrestling. And now, he dragged Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team into the picture. 

‘The One’ tweeted, “Jack Maddalena came out and executed his game plan and got the win . What I was stating was Belal went from “Dagestan and forget” training camp with Khabib to Canelo Hands . I feel Belal camp misread the fight and thought they had more of advantage on the feet than he actually did. His normal grapple heavy and cage control fighting style was the play. If you’re going to lose , go down with your best game plan . Which I don’t feel he did !”

Jack Maddalena came out and executed his game plan and got the win . What I was stating was Belal went from “Dagestan and forget” training camp with Khabib to Canelo Hands . I feel Belal camp misread the fight and thought they had more of advantage on the feet than he actually…

— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) May 12, 2025

But do you know what Team Khabib had to say about it? Well, the AKA coach, Javier Mendez, had a few things to say about Muhammad’s stance on proving himself on his feet. And yes, he did use the Nurmagomedov example. 

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s former coach weighs in on Belal Muhammad’s UFC 315 mistake

During a conversation with Submission Radio after the events of UFC 315, Mendez revealed, “None of us thought that Belal would be able to beat him just standing up, so he wanted to do what none of us thought that he could do, that’s what I’m thinking. I could be wrong, but that’s what it appeared like to me that he wanted to stand. He didn’t want to implement what got him the title.” 

He pointed out that ‘The Eagle’ was also criticized heavily because of his poor striking skills. However, the former UFC lightweight champion made sure to cover that gap with his impeccable grappling abilities. Yet, there were times when Nurmagomedov opted to prove himself on his feet, just like ‘Remember The Name’ did. He continued, “I’d always keep him on track, but he’d always go off track trying to prove to people that he could stand, and he could stand as the fights went on later. Later, he was able to stand really well – extremely well. But I still didn’t like that because I wanted him to go back to what made him the best, and that’s the mistake a lot of fighters make. They want to try to prove their point that they can do things that people think they can’t do.”

But now, with Belal Muhammad out of the welterweight throne, Makhachev has taken up the stance to go against JDM. He sent a fierce warning when the newly crowned welterweight champion invited the Dagestani to a fight. He wanted to avenge Alexander Volkanovski’s defeat against Makhachev. But the lightweight champion had a different plan for his welterweight debut. And we’d get to see that pretty soon. 

What do you think of the errors that Muhammad made in his fight against Della Maddalena? Do you think Makhachev can exact revenge for the former welterweight champion and beat the Australian? Let us know what you think in the comments down below. 

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