Somewhere in an alternate timeline, Belal Muhammad is several years into a law career and his mother isn’t constantly asking him if he’s ready to quit his job, despite all his success.
That was the plan for the Muhammad that exists in this reality — the one where he stands as the No. 1 contender in the UFC welterweight division and is poised to face Leon Edwards for championship gold this weekend in the main event of UFC 304 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England — but seeing Louis Taylor’s picture in his local paper several years after the two first crossed paths as student and coach when Muhammad was a high school wrestler ultimately sent him down a different path.