“Jared Gordon is fighting next week, so I plan on staying out here, watching that fight, and staying out of the Chicago snow; it’s so cold down there right now that I don’t want to go home,” he added, giving a shout out to his close friend and former roommate, who faces Danny Chavez next weekend.
“I like to train at different gyms, get different looks, so maybe I’ll stay out here for a couple weeks. Xtreme Couture has always been inviting me to come down, check it out, so if I’m healthy, I’m going to stay down here and stay ready.”
But the first step in having an active and successful 2021 is getting things started with a victory on Saturday, which for Muhammad comes down to one thing: being himself.
“For me, it’s just being myself — staying in his face, keeping the pressure on,” he said. “I feel like I’m better than him everywhere, so it’s just about going out there and using all my tools; starting fast and starting early.
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“I usually pick up more in the second and third round, but I’ve been working on starting fast and breaking guys earlier,” he added. “If you look at six of my last seven wins, I had guys in finishing spots where I took their backs and they were close to breaking, so I know I’m at the point where I can finish these guys, so I just have to start fast and they’ll break.”
If that happens and he comes away unscathed, don’t be surprised if you see Muhammad again in the next couple weeks, jumping into a short notice opportunity, chasing another victory and a chance to climb even higher up the divisional ladder.
But even if it doesn’t, you’re still going to be hearing from him because his personality is infectious and his social media presence continues to grow, which means one way or another, you’re going to end up remembering his name.
