Belal Muhammad breaks into top five of pound-for-pound rankings

The UFC rankings were updated on Tuesday after another Fight Night event with several names shaking up the respected list.

Umar Nurmagomedov made the biggest leap following his main event win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi but Belal Muhammad joined him in making a significant move.

Though he did not compete at UFC Abu Dhabi, Muhammad leaped bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley to become the organization's No. 5-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. With the positional shift, Muhammad became the fifth-highest-ranked fighter despite being the newest champion.

Muhammad debuted in the pound-for-pound rankings in the previous update on July 30, three days after his dominant title victory over Leon Edwards at UFC 304. His initial placement was at No. 6, above longer-reigning champions including Dricus du Plessis, Alexandre Pantoja and Tom Aspinall.

At the latest update, the 36-year-old was moved up one slot to officially become a top-five fighter in the world.

Succeeding his win over Sandhagen, Nurmagomedov went from No. 10 in the bantamweight division to No. 2. Deiveson Figueiredo also climbed the 135-pound rankings from No. 6 to No. 5 with Marlon 'Chito' Vera subsequently dropping three spots to No. 7.

In the light heavyweight division, undefeated Russian Azamat Murzakanov moved up to No. 11 from his previous placement at No. 14 while knocking Alonzo Menifield out of the top 15 in favor of Roman Dolidze.

Belal Muhammad's UFC resume

While Muhammad has just one official championship victory, his fighter resume is already equal to that of a long-reigning champion with four wins over fighters currently in the top 10 and five wins over opponents with a single-digit ranking at the time of their meeting. His ascension to the top of the welterweight division includes signature wins over Sean Brady, Gilbert Burns, Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson, Demian Maia and Edwards.

Perhaps most impressively, Muhammad has lost just six of the 37 he has fought during his current 11-fight unbeaten streak. Had it not been for a no-contest with Edwards from their first fight in 2021, Muhammad would be on a 10-fight win streak that would be third in welterweight history.

For as much work as he has already put in, 'Remember the Name' is still itching to continue building his portfolio with future title defenses against the next generation of fighters at 170 pounds. Muhammad is expected to defend his belt in the coming months against undefeated Kazakh contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.