UFC women`s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña expressed a surprising view regarding Belal Muhammad`s loss at UFC 315.
Belal Muhammad`s time as UFC welterweight champion finished unexpectedly when he lost to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in Montreal last month. The fight was a potential `Fight of the Year`, going all five rounds, and Maddalena won by unanimous decision.
Della Maddalena is likely to face UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev next. Makhachev is set to vacate the lightweight title this month, which could lead to a bout with the new welterweight titleholder.
Muhammad has accepted the surprising loss at UFC 315 calmly, even though many critics spoke out after the fight. However, despite Muhammad`s calm reaction, his teammate feels the judges made the wrong call.
Julianna Peña Believes Belal Muhammad Was `Robbed` of Victory at UFC 315
Muhammad and UFC women`s bantamweight champion Julianna Peña have trained together in Chicago for a long time. Peña was heavily involved in Muhammad`s training camp for UFC 315 and thinks he performed well enough to win on the scorecards and keep his welterweight title, disagreeing with many others.
Peña explained her view that Muhammad was unfairly treated by the judges at UFC 315 during her press conference for UFC 316 media day.
Peña stated, “I didn`t believe Belal had lost. Watching the fight, I thought, `Yes, we`ve got this! He won!`, so when the decision went to the other fighter, credit to him, but I felt Belal was the winner.”
She added, “My only encouragement to him was telling him, `Sorry, my brother, you were robbed.`”
Muhammad hasn`t directly claimed he should have won UFC 315 based on his performance, but he is keen to fight again later this year. Meanwhile, Peña is scheduled to fight Kayla Harrison in the co-main event of UFC 316 this Saturday in Newark.
Peña isn`t the only well-known figure who thought Muhammad should have kept his title. Jeremy Stephens, who recently fought at UFC Des Moines, scored the fight for Muhammad even though he was supporting Maddalena.
Belal Muhammad Had a Disagreement with a UFC 316 Fighter Just Days Before the Event
Before his teammate`s fight at UFC 316, Muhammad clashed with another prominent fighter on the same card this week due to harsh comments made during media day. UFC welterweight Kevin Holland admitted he was pleased that Muhammad lost at UFC 315, leading to a strong exchange between them online.
Holland is set to compete against Vicente Luque this Saturday at UFC 316, marking his return to the Octagon. He previously beat Gunnar Nelson at UFC London earlier this year.
Although it`s not confirmed if Muhammad will corner the women`s bantamweight champion this weekend, the former welterweight titleholder remains in the news.
Rupert Hartwell 
Benedict Kingsley