"Feels like the Epstein files" - Belal Muhammad shares wild reason for training with "young monsters" ahead of UFC Qatar

Belal Muhammad recently explained training with younger sparring partners ahead of his fight against Ian Machado Garry at UFC Qatar. Muhammad jokingly compared his training process to "the Epstein files" while explaining why he isn't worried about going up against the younger, up-and-coming contenders.

Muhammad is coming off a welterweight title loss against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in May. Meanwhile, Machado Garry is coming off a unanimous decision victory against Carlos Prates at UFC Kansas City in April. The two are now set to clash in a pivotal 170-pound matchup at UFC Qatar this weekend, with the Irishman confident of his chances against the former champion.

Ahead of his upcoming fight, the 37-year-old Chicago native addressed concerns about his ability to hold his own against younger welterweight contenders. During the UFC Qatar media day interview, Muhammad explained that he was training with younger opponents and said:

"My future is bright. I’m training with young monsters. Ignacio Bahamondes is probably 28, and I think he’s one of the best strikers in the UFC. I got a 17-year-old now, Ignacio’s younger brother, who’s a monster. It feels like the Epstein files without the s*x. Right? I’m getting their powers through sparring and training. So it feels good."

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He continued:

"I love training every day with these guys. I'm learning so much from these guys. I'm growing so much from these guys. The energy they bring, it makes me feel younger. I'm still young in this sport, my body feels good."

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Kamaru Usman gets honest about Belal Muhammad vs. Ian Machado Garry

Kamaru Usman doesn't think that the winner of the Belal Muhammad vs. Ian Machado Garry fight will get the next title shot. The former welterweight king recently shared his thoughts on the matchup and shared his preview.

In an episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo, Usman explained his stance and said:

"I don't think either guy this puts them up for a title shot. Not long ago, [Machado Garry] just lose to Shavkat Rakhmonov. That was not that long ago. Yes, of course, he was able to outsmart [Carlos] Prates and get that win, but not long ago did he lose to Shavkat. If Belal is able to win that, so?"

He continued:

"Now you want to challenge the man [Islam Makhachev] you didn't want to challenge you to fight for the title? Because you said that was my brother, I trained with him, I don't want him to challenge me for the title?... It's a tough one, but I might have to lean toward Garry. It's a tough one, even though Belal has the ability to completely win this fight, but I do lean toward Garry." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Edited by Nishant Zende.