There are numerous examples of teammates falling out in the UFC and ultimately finding themselves butting heads inside the Octagon. Fighters like Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal, among many others, all fall into that category of ex-teammates. However, that doesn’t seem to be the way Team Khabib operates. There’s been a growing discussion about the possibility of Islam Makhachev fighting Belal Muhammad since the Dagestani aims to be a double champion. “I’m not going to leave this sport without a second belt. This is my goal.” Makhachev declared ahead of UFC 311 earlier this year.

But his mentor and coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, doesn’t want to entertain that idea. “Islam wants to fight at 170lb, but we can’t go up there because Belal is the champion. [He] is very close to us,” Nurmagomedov recently told Adam Zubayraev when asked about the Islam-Belal fight, claiming that the reigning welterweight champion is part of his family. The love is genuine since ‘Remember the Name’ has been associated with Team Khabib for a while. ‘Bully B’ reportedly trained with the Dagestanis ahead of his UFC 304 bout against Leon Edwards. Moreover, Muhammad and Makhachev even posed together after his title win in Manchester. Brotherhood at its finest! And guess what? The feeling’s mutual for Muhammad.

The reigning 170lbs kingpin has also put a full stop to all the speculations, claiming that he would never butt heads against Islam Makhachev even if other fighters think they should. It all comes down to the level of loyalty Team Khabib has among its fighters. Like Khabib Nurmagomedov said himself, they “can’t exchange our relationships for belt.” Besides, both fighters have many contenders coming into the title scene, and for Muhammad, the welterweight champion is looking forward to keeping his belt at UFC 315 when he goes up against Jack Della Maddalena in Montreal.

“There’s levels to loyalty, there’s levels to this. And it’s for myself, like you said, you do get tired of it because I do have a lot of challenges. I’ve got a long list of guys in front of me,” Belal Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “Even for Islam now, with Paddy Pimblett with that huge win, he got another guy right there. He got Justin Gaethje right there. If Topuria gets a win, he got him right there, too. My end is like my eyes are set on my next target. My next target is Jack, and that’s all I care about.”

While the welterweight champion gears up for the Aussie contender, Makhachev has one more contender on the rise besides the top 3 ranked fighters, Paddy Pimblett. Seeing how the list is stacked for both Team Khabib champions, it’s unlikely that they’ll ever find themselves squaring off against each other inside the Octagon.

It’s not the first time Belal Muhammad has shut down ideas about fighting Makhachev, and it certainly won’t be the last time, as far as the current scenario goes. But one fighter is willing to put his money on the fact that this fight is inevitable. Let’s take a look at that front.

Islam Makhachev vs. Belal Muhammad is ‘happening’, claims ex-featherweight champion

Ilia Topuria recently made his debut on Joe Rogan‘s multi-million-dollar podcast, where he spoke about his plans for the lightweight division. While claiming that he wants to compel Islam Makhachev to fight him even if he has to wait for it, ‘La Leyenda’ touched upon the possibility of the Dagestan native fighting Belal Muhammad. According to Topuria, he doesn’t see any scenario of the fight between the reigning 155 lbs and 170 lbs champion not locking horns inside the Octagon, even if they’re teammates, because others have done it, too.

“If [Muhammad] wins [against Jack Della Maddalena], they’re gonna make that fight happen against Islam,” Ilia Topuria told Joe Rogan. “How many guys we see fighting between each other that they used to train before?” Apparently, the UFC color commentator agreed that Islam Makhachev and Belal Muhammad “should fight.” But then again, he also understands Khabib Nurmagomedov’s perspective.

Well, everybody has their opinions about a possible Islam-Belal fight. But what do you think? Should the teammates lock horns for a mega champion vs. champion fight? Let us know in the comments down below.