Belal Muhammad: Ian Machado Garry ‘understood poking an eye was going to win the fight’

Belal Muhammad knows a thing or two about how eye pokes can dramatically alter the course of any fight.

After his first encounter against Leon Edwards ended in a no-contest following a brutal eye poke, the former UFC welterweight champion suffered de ja vu in his most recent fight with Ian Machado Garry. The action was paused a couple of times after Muhammad complained about eye pokes but the referee didn’t administer any punishment such as deducting a point for Garry committing the foul.

Ultimately, Muhammad lost a unanimous decision but he believes Garry actually used the eye pokes strategically to gain an advantage.

“What did we see in the fight? Obviously, we didn’t see much,” Muhammad said on his YouTube channel. “Got poked in the eye three times. What are you going to do, right? I said Ian was very smart at figuring out ways to win fights and understands how to win.

“He understood poking an 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?”

Of course, Muhammad isn’t alone when it comes to fighters voicing their frustration over eye pokes happening but rarely resulting in the referee dishing out any punishment. Even UFC CEO Dana White recently stated that “harder penalties” were probably the only real solution to truly deter fighters from putting their hands in a position where an eye poke could happen.

While he obviously believes the eye pokes played a part in his downfall, Muhammad still gave Garry credit for his performance. Ideally, Muhammad wishes he had more time to work but he takes the blame for that affecting the outcome in the fight.

“Ian was pretty smart,” Muhammad said. “He’s very good with his distance management. We knew he was going to be sticking and moving. Obviously we pushed for five rounds. A three round fight, you’ve got to start faster. You’ve got to start earlier. You’ve got to catch them earlier. For me, we’ve got to change that. We’ve got to step on the gas sooner.

“By the third round, we figured out the distance, we figured out the style but it was already too late. You’ve got to do that sooner. Also for myself, we’ve just got to get better.”

The fight served as a second straight loss for Muhammad after the dropped a unanimous decision to Jack Della Maddalena back in May in his first title defense as UFC champion.

Muhammad has never lost two in a row previously in his career but he vowed to come back better from this experience and prove he’s a better fighter in his next trip to the octagon.

“Obviously the fight didn’t go the way we wanted it to go,” Muhammad said. “All we can do is get better and grow from it.

“I still think we’re one of the best in the world. I can’t wait to prove it. Really nothing else to talk about. The actions mean more than words.”