Beneil
Dariush doesn’t think Belal
Muhammad will be at a striking disadvantage against Jack
Della Maddalena.
Muhammad puts his welterweight title on the line against Maddalena
in the main event at UFC 315
on May 10 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. While
Muhammad was initially expected to face the undefeated Shavkat
Rakhmonov, “Nomad” reportedly couldn’t accept the matchup due
to an injury.
While Muhammad’s grappling skill is well known, some believe
Maddalena can outstrike the champ on the feet. However, Dariush, an
ace grappler himself, disagrees. The Assyrian-American believes
Muhammad’s skill set is still generally underestimated. According
to Dairush, “Remember the Name” not only has a huge wrestling
advantage over Maddalena but can also stand up with the Australian
for as long as he wants.
“Belal is so good. I think people need to start recognizing his
skillset,” Dariush told Submission Radio. “I think he has a big advantage
in the grappling. And he is not really behind in the striking. I
don’t see anything wrong where he would struggle too much with the
striking. His striking is just fine. I think he would be able to
stand his own with JDM as long as he needs to.”
Muhammad has shown significant improvement in his stand-up game in
his title win over Leon
Edwards at UFC 304 last year. Meanwhile, Maddalena is
considered of the fiercest punchers in the division with five
finishes in seven straight UFC wins. The Australian hasn’t lost
since his dropping his first two pro outings in 2016.