Muhammad grew up in Chicago, son of Palestinian parents, and he’s made that identity central to his public profile. Speaking to Euronews before UFC Qatar, he framed carrying the Palestinian flag into the Octagon as a duty more than a privilege: “to raise that flag, to bring awareness to them, I have to do it.” He turned pro on the American regional circuit before signing with the UFC, then built his name slowly at 170. By the early 2020s he was one of the most active and reliable welterweights on the roster, stacking the wins that eventually got him into title contention.
He fights at a high pace, built on conditioning, takedowns, and grinding control. He lands 4.43 significant strikes per minute at 50.95% accuracy, and his takedowns (36.51% accuracy) are a positional tool, not a finishing weapon — only one of his 24 wins came by submission. The knock on him has always been the finishing rate: most of his big wins are decisions. He trains at Valle Flow Striking in Bensenville, Illinois, where, per UFC.com, he’s spent recent camps sharpening his striking.
The defining fights are clustered tight. A second-round TKO of Sean Brady at UFC 280 in 2022 is his only recent finish at the top of the division. Decisions over Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson, and Gilbert Burns built the title-shot case. He cashed it at UFC 304 in July 2024, outpointing Leon Edwards over five rounds for the UFC welterweight title. The reign was short. Della Maddalena took the belt at UFC 315 in May 2025, and Machado Garry handed him a second straight loss in Qatar that November.
Muhammad now sits as a former champion looking to reclaim relevance. With Islam Makhachev holding the belt and Michael Morales surging after stopping Brady, the line ahead is long. Muhammad has floated a fight with Kamaru Usman, telling Sherdog the matchup “makes the most sense” if Morales gets the next title shot. After two losses in a row, his next booking decides whether the title run was a peak or a checkpoint.