Despite a clean conscience, Belal Muhammad describes the panic that sets in when USADA reaches out

Belal Muhammad admits all sorts of scenarios raced through his head when he got a phone call from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency this past week. The most prominent of those issues was that something had happened with one of his drug tests that would put his UFC 205 bout in jeopardy.

Instead, it was actually Muhammad’s (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) originally scheduled opponent, Lyman Good, who had the issue, because a potential anti-doping violation caused him to be pulled from the welterweight contest and replaced by Vicente Luque (10-5-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC).

Although Muhammad said he has a clean conscience when it comes to anything that would result in a potential USADA violation, he admits a sliver of fear entered his mind when the situation around his opponent switch was unfolding.

“I was training at night, it was like 8:30 at night, and I had an interview on another radio show, so I had to get out of practice early,” Muhammad told MMAjunkie Radio. “I go to my phone and I had like 30 missed text messages and had a missed call from USADA and I was like, ‘Wow, what is USADA calling me for?’ I called them right away thinking about my drug test if anything happened.

“They told me he failed the drug test for steroids or whatever (and) they just wanted to let me know from them. My manager hit me up and said they were going to search for somebody right away. It was good they got someone quick because this is a historic card, so I want to stay on it.”

UFC 205 takes place Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Muhammed vs. Luque opens the FS1-televised prelims following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass and prior to the pay-per-view main card.

Plenty of fighters have encountered problems with USADA since the company was brought in to oversee the UFC’s drug testing program starting in July 2015. Muhammad has no intention of joining Good and others on the list of drug test failures, which is why he said he goes the extra mile to ensure no banned substances are in his system.

“It’s crazy because I really don’t take any supplements at all,” Muhammad said. “But the things I do take, (USADA) gave me their cellphone number and said, ‘Message me at any point if you’re thinking about a supplements. Message me and take a picture of it and I’ll let you know right away if it’s good.’ So before I take anything, I don’t care if it’s a Flintstone vitamin, I ask if it’s good or not.”

Despite the switch in opponent, Muhammad said he’s in a good place ahead of UFC 205. He competes for the third time since joining the organization in July, a schedule he said he’s pleased with so early in his UFC career. With so many opportunities to step in the octagon, Muhammad said he’s continuing to find his identity as a fighter and expects that progress to continue against Luque, who enters the fight on a three-fight winning streak with all those victories coming via stoppage.

“I feel like I’m coming into my own now in fighting,” Muhammad said. “Earlier in my career it was more so going to decision, going to decision, trying to figure out what type of fighter I’m going to be. Now the last couple fights I feel like I’ve been able to get the right mindset and get to the finish and go for the finish and get to the point where I know my opponent is going to break.

“Honestly, this is the best time of my life. Before when I started my career outside of the UFC it was hard to find a fight. I had to sit there and wait six, seven months in between fights because I couldn’t get an opponent or someone would back out. It feels good to be just working. Might as well have a goal for that training, so I’m happy to stay busy.”

For more on UFC 205, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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