Belal Muhammad Refuses to Say Covington's Name After 10-0 Shutout
Muhammad said he would own the lopsided RAF 13 loss but would not mention Colby Covington once in his statement.
Belal Muhammad got wiped off the mat at RAF 13 on Friday night, and his first public response managed to acknowledge the loss without once mentioning the man who beat him.
Colby Covington shut out Muhammad 10-0 by technical fall in the main event of RAF 13 at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida. Covington scored a four-point takedown in the first period, built a 6-0 lead, and then watched Muhammad get hit with passivity penalties in the second period until the referee waved it off at 10-0, per MiddleEasy.
Muhammad posted a statement on social media afterward. "I'll own it, learn from it, and get back to work," he wrote, per MMA Mania. He thanked RAF Wrestling, Chad Bronstein, and Izzy Style Wrestling "for the opportunity to compete and challenge myself in a different arena." What he did not do was say Covington's name or give him any credit for the dominant performance.
Covington, for his part, was not looking for a handshake either. After the win he called for a trilogy with Kamaru Usman, saying the two have "unfinished business" and calling it "probably the top of the list," per MiddleEasy.
The result was not close by any measure. Muhammad, a UFC welterweight contender, was placed on the shot clock for inactivity and never found his footing under the Real American Freestyle ruleset. The grudge between these two clearly survives the final whistle.
Belal owning a 10-0 technical fall without ever saying Colby's name is the most Belal thing possible, and I do not blame him. Colby has spent years being the guy nobody wants to give credit to. But let's be real about what happened. Four-point takedown, 6-0, then passivity penalties until the ref stopped it. Muhammad was never in it.
The fair caveat is that this was a wrestling match under RAF rules, not a fight. Belal is a UFC welterweight contender who took a risk in a different arena and got exposed by a guy whose whole base is that arena. Thanking RAF and Izzy Style for the opportunity is the right message. Pretending it was close would not be.
Colby is already onto the Usman trilogy and clearly did not need the handshake. Fine. The grudge lives. What I want is for these two to settle it in a cage one day, where Belal's cardio and Colby's mouth both matter.
