Belal Muhammad blames eye pokes for Ian Garry defeat at UFC Qatar: ‘The rules need to be changed’

Belal Muhammad suffered a difficult defeat at UFC Qatar.

Already stuck between a rock and a hard place, the former Welterweight champion entered his co-main event battle against Ian Machado Garry in need of some momentum. Instead of reversing his fortunes, however, Muhammad extended his losing streak to two in a row. For most of the fight, Muhammad was stranded on the feet with the taller, longer striker, unable to get his takedowns going while eating jabs.

Unfortunately, Muhammad didn’t just eat jabs. There were two clear eye pokes that drew the referee’s attention but ultimately did not cost Garry a point. Though Garry won by a wide enough margin that a single point deduction wouldn’t have changed the end result, Muhammad is still bothered by how the fouls played out and would like to see stiffer penalties in play.

“What did we see in the fight? Obviously, we didn’t see much, got poked in the eye three times,” Muhammad said on his YouTube channel (via Curtis Calhoun). “He understood that poking in the eye was going to win the fight, especially when you do it early, especially when you don’t get points taken away from you. The rules need to be changed, there needs to be repercussions. Otherwise, guys are going to keep doing it! What’s the point?”

Muhammad definitely has a right to be irritated by the eye pokes, which surely didn’t help his chances of knocking off the young contender. In addition, Muhammad has a history of dealing with eye pokes, as he suffered a painful “No Contest” from the pointy fingers of Leon Edwards way back in March 2021. Though he eventually scored his revenge on “Rocky,” a second showdown opposite Garry is unlikely at the moment.

So much for those alleged rule changes.

Regardless of this controversy, Muhammad is committed to getting back into the win column and climbing the ladder once more. With that in mind, who should be next for the former champion?