Mike Valle is excited for the challenge of helping Belal Muhammad hand Shavkat Rakhmonov his first loss.
Welterweight champion Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) makes his first title defense against Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the UFC 310 headliner on Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+).
Valle knows what it’s like to coach underdogs to a world title, where he’s recently been in the corner for Muhammad’s title win over Leon Edwards at UFC 304, then Julianna Peña’s title win over Raquel Pennington at UFC 307.
“It’s a great challenge,” Valle told MMA Junkie. “It’s a great code to crack. I can’t wait for it. There’s all this hype behind him and he’s a great guy. He’s a great fighter, too. Belal is unreal, too. He’s the best in the world at fighting.
“And he’s the best in the world at going back, going sideways, putting pressure, not going to the ground. So it doesn’t matter where the fight may take place. He’s willing to go forward, go back, go to the side, fight on top, fight behind. It really doesn’t scare us. Whatever it is, let’s go.”
It’s been a long road for Muhammad, who had to go on a 10-fight unbeaten streak to finally earn his title shot. Valle says he knew from the start that Muhammad had championship potential.
“It’s been a journey with him, and whenever I saw Belal walk in for the first time in my gym, I told him, ‘Dude, you’re going to be a world champion,’” Valle said. “I mean that. That was the first time I saw him there: ‘You’re going to be a world champion’ because I saw something in his eyes and his work ethic. … He’s nonstop. It’s been a journey for him. He’s worked hard for that journey, and I’m so proud of him.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
