Belal Muhammad keeps on rolling.
At UFC 258 on Saturday, Muhammad (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) stalked and boxed his way to a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) victory over Dhiego Lima in a welterweight preliminary-card bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The fight played out in a repetitive manner on the feet from distance. Muhammad walked down Lima (15-8 MMA, 4-6 UFC) and battered the TUF 19 middleweight runner-up with punches all the way. Lima’s face sported damage, but he didn’t give up on throwing back.
As the fight progressed, Lima found success with low leg kicks. He peppered the inside and outside of Muhammad’s lead leg. Muhammad was hurting but kept pressing forward. After he received some ice treatment on his calf in between the second and third round, Muhammad topped off his performance with a dominant final frame.
After the fight, Muhammad called out China’s Li Jingliang (18-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) on the broadcast.
“Hey, Li Jingliang, you’re right above me, man,” Muhammad said during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “You’re taking everything I work for. You’re No. 12. I’m No. 13. Let’s do it.”
With the victory, Muhammad extends his winning streak to four, a stretch that also includes Lyman Good, Takashi Sato, and Curtis Millender. The Chicago native has only lost one fight since the start of 2017 – a unanimous decision defeat to Geoff Neal.
As for Lima, the loss snaps a three-fight winning streak. Entering the fight, Lima had defeated Luke Jumeau, Court McGee, and Chad Laprise in succession. He is now 3-2 since he returned to the UFC in July 2017.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 258 results:
- Belal Muhammad def. Dhiego Lima via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Polyana Viana def. Mallory Martin via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:18
- Chris Gutierrez def. Andre Ewell via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 30-27)
- Gabe Green def. Phil Rowe via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
