Earlier this month, Muhammad lost the UFC welterweight title, dropping a unanimous decision to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315. Heading into the fight, Muhammad -- known for his grappling and pressure -- assured fans he was bringing "Canelo hands" to the table against Della Maddalena. Most fans assumed this was bluster, until Muhammad spent much of the fighting willingly engaging in a striking battle with "JDM." Many suspected that wasn't the actual plan, and Muhammad confirmed as much on Friday.
"I think I have the best team in the world, some of the best coaches in the world, and we go into every fight with a strategy and idea of what we want to do," Muhammad said on Remember the Show. "Obviously, for us, what our strategy was was to take down Jack. It wasn't to go blow-for-blow with him, brawl-for-brawl with him.
"But, man, it's a weird moment when you're training something so much and you're getting better at something, which I think my striking has grown so much and I've always said it. When I said that in the lead-up, I wasn't lying about it. 'Bro, I can box with him, I can strike with him. I'm not afraid to strike with him.' And I went out there and I just felt good."
While Muhammad had success on the feet, it ultimately wasn't enough. But despite the fact that he lost the title, Muhammad still doesn't believe his decision was a bad one.
"You know how they say there's a different energy when you're a champion and you're getting 20 percent better, for me, I always thought I was the best in the world," Muhammad said. "I still think I'm the best in the world. I was like, 'Bro, I can strike with this guy. People are telling me I can't strike with him.' Obviously, we lost the fight, but we stood toe-to-toe with him. People can say whatever they want to say and do whatever they want to do, I went against the game plan, I went on my own, and at the end of the day, I'm going to live with that.
"But it came down to one round, maybe one exchange that could've swayed the judges one way, so was my game plan wrong? I could've went the other way. Could it have been an easier fight? It could've, but at the end of the day, I love to fight."
The loss was Muhammad's first since 2019, snapping an 11-fight unbeaten streak. It also dropped "Remember the Name" out of the current title picture, which is suddenly overflowing with potential challengers at welterweight. But Muhammad believes one good win puts him right back in line to reclaim the title.
"I'm one fight away from winning the belt. I'm one fight away from being there," Muhammad said. "... I'm not stupid. I'm not going to sit there and think, 'Oh, I'm going to wait for a rematch.' I want to get back up. I want to beat one of these guys that's a No. 1 contender. I want to show you guys that I'm still the best in the world. I want to show them, 'Who are you going to put in front of me and watch what I do.' ...
"When I'm looking at the division, I'm looking at the landscape of the division, I think of who it could be, obviously, jumps out to the table, if Kamaru [Usman] wins, I feel like it will be Kamaru if he gets past [Joaquin] Buckley," Muhammad added later. "You've got Ian Garry, you've got [Sean] Brady, and even if Buckley wins. ... Whoever is next is going to have to win one, so I think it all comes down to how they match everybody up."
Though he's soon to turn 37 years old, Muhammad says this loss is just a minor setback. It took him a long time to finally get his title opportunity, and he's not ready to call it quits just because he lost his first title defense.
"I still have that hunger, desire to keep achieving greatness," Muhammad said. "There's nothing in me that's like, 'I'm done now, I'm sad now, let's see what YouTubers are out there.' I'm still chasing legacy, I'm still chasing GSP. GSP lost his belt and he gained it back. So for my mentality, it's, 'We're still here.' I don't care how old they are or how old they think I am, go in there and beat me. And there's not a lot of guys that are able to do that."