UFC Qatar goes down tomorrow and in the co-main event, we could be seeing a title eliminator in the welterweight division. Former champion Belal Muhammad (24-4, 1 NC) takes on top contender Ian Machado Garry (16-1).
The last time we saw Muhammad was back in May when he lost the welterweight title to Jack Della Maddalena. That loss was Muhammad’s first loss since 2019. From April 2019 until May of this year, Muhammad went 10-0, 1 NC in 11 fights and became the welterweight champion. Now, he’ll try to pickup this win and get back to the title.
To do that, he’ll have to beat a very tough Ian Machado Garry. The last time we saw Garry was back in April at UFC Kansas City. In the main event, Garry beat Carlos Prates by decision to bounce back after his close loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov last December.
UFC Qatar Prediction
Despite just having come off this long winning streak where he was the welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad is the big betting underdog at UFC Qatar. If you ask me, I actually think that the odds are pretty good in this matchup.
Muhammad is getting older and is really going to struggle with the range and striking of Ian Machado Garry. I don’t think that Muhammad is going to be able to close the distance and use his wrestling the same way he did against a guy like Leon Edwards.
With that, I think Garry is going to have more of an opportunity to fight from range and from range, he’s going to outclass Muhammad. I actually think you’ll see a more aggressive Ian Machado Garry at UFC Qatar because after last weekend, he knows he’ll have to make a statement and I think he will.
Prediction: Ian Machado Garry by TKO
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