Ali Abdelaziz: Belal Muhammad will 'fight anyone' in possible return in December

Belal Muhammad is preparing for his first title defense, with the reigning UFC welterweight champion most likely returning in December.

This was said by his manager Ali Abdelaziz, who confirmed that Muhammad will be training and ready to fight before the end of the year.

“Belal is ready to go in December,” Abdelaziz told MMA Fighting. “No problem. We're ready to go, but the UFC has to announce it. I can't announce a fight on your podcast. Most likely you'll see Belal in December. Who, where, when, that's a question from Dana White.

“It can be Shavkat (Rakhmonov). It can be (Kamaru) Usman. It can be anything the UFC wants. I said if you're the champion, you have to defend the title against (whoever) they give you. It doesn’t matter who.”

When December comes, Muhammad would almost certainly compete at UFC 310, scheduled for December 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

As for potential opponents, Muhammad has seemingly singled out unbeaten contender Shavkat Rakhmonov as his most likely challenge, although he has definitely also engaged in a war of words with former champion Kamaru Usman.

Abdelaziz actually manages both Muhammad and Usman and he expects that fight to happen at some point in the future, but it's just unclear if that's next.

“Kamaru is one of my best friends, my brother, Belal is my brother, I love these two guys,” Abdelaziz said. “At the end of the day, two alpha males. Kamaru has held this crown for a long time, Belal has earned the crown. He is the king now. Kamaru believes he can still be the king. To be honest, I don't think these guys have much respect for each other.

“You can certainly imagine these guys will fight in the future. I think one of the biggest fights in the welterweight division is Kamaru vs. Belal. It's not even close. Nobody even close. Belal needs big names to cement himself as one of the greatest welterweights of all time. He needs Kamaru Usman. Kamaru is the king of the welterweight division. Dana White says he's the greatest of all time. If these two guys fight, it will be one of the greatest welterweight fights of its time.”

Abdelaziz, for his part, promises not to get involved in the war of words between two of his fighters. He's been here before. Abdelaziz says his only job is to make sure the fighters stay healthy, that they get everything they need from him and that both end up with bigger bank accounts when it's all over.

“They will fight,” Abdelaziz said. “At the end of the day, they are two grown men. Both want the same thing. I'm in the middle of it all and my job is to make sure they make a whole lot of money and get everything they need when they both argue.

“Look, Marlon Moraes fought Henry Cejudo. Kamaru fought against Gilbert (Burns). Justin Gaethje fought Khabib (Nurmagomedov) for the title and I remain neutral. I will remain the same.”

Whether Rakhmonov or Usman, Abdelaziz says Mohammed will not shy away from any challenge presented to him. He waited so long for his chance at the title that his manager believed Muhammad was eager to begin his championship reign.

“Belal will also fight anyone, don’t get it twisted,” Abdelaziz said. “Belal is not afraid of any man on this planet. He's the champion for a reason. Kamaru is also not afraid of anyone. I'm sure Shavkat is not afraid of anyone. Looking at these top five guys, no one can say that these guys are afraid or hiding from anyone.

“The guy who stays out of the way for years and never fights is Colby Covington. He only fights when it suits him. That's the only one I can say is ducking. No one else.”