How welterweight champ Belal Muhammad can get the sport to remember his name - ESPN

Last July, moments after Belal «Remember the Name» Muhammad won the UFC welterweight championship, ESPN commentator Daniel Cormier didn't remember his name.

«Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the welterweight champion, Leon Edwards!» Cormier proclaimed at the end of the postfight interview with Muhammad (24-3, 1 NC), who had just soundly defeated Edwards via unanimous decision to take the belt at UFC 304 in Manchester, England.

It was an honest mistake by Cormier, one he immediately corrected. He'd been saying the words «welterweight champion Leon Edwards» all week, because during the buildup to the fight, Edwards had in fact been the champion. But at the same time, it was fitting that this mix-up happened to Muhammad, a nine-year UFC veteran who has been vastly overlooked by fans and opponents alike during his rise.

«I don't need the world to believe in me,» Muhammad said later that night while talking about the doubts he faced from others. «I don't need anyone to believe in me. I don't need applause. Me and my team know what we're capable of, and now we're world champions.» Muhammad, who is the first Palestinian American champion in UFC history, looks to make his first title defense on Saturday against Australian challenger Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) at UFC 315 (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV) in Montreal, a city that has hosted so many big moments for the greatest — and most popular — welterweight of all time, Georges St-Pierre. Muhammad has shown tremendous respect for St-Pierre, telling the UFC recently it will be «surreal» for him to fight in GSP's arena.

«That's the guy that's considered the GOAT of your weight class,» Muhammad said of St-Pierre. «Someone you always look up to, you watch, you try to mimic.»

But he