Is there a path for Belal to catch GSP?

Last July, moments after Belal "Remember the Name" Muhammad won the UFC welterweight championship, ESPN commentator Daniel Cormier didn't remember his name.

"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the welterweight champion, Leon Edwards!" Cormier proclaimed at the end of the postfight interview with Muhammad (24-3, 1 NC), who had just soundly defeated Edwards via unanimous decision to take the belt at UFC 304 in Manchester, England.

It was an honest mistake by Cormier, one he immediately corrected. He'd been saying the words "welterweight champion Leon Edwards" all week, because during the buildup to the fight, Edwards had in fact been the champion. But at the same time, it was fitting that this mix-up happened to Muhammad, a nine-year UFC veteran who has been vastly overlooked by fans and opponents alike during his rise.

"I don't need the world to believe in me," Muhammad said later that night while talking about the doubts he faced from others. "I don't need anyone to believe in me. I don't need applause. Me and my team know what we're capable of, and now we're world champions." Muhammad, who is the first Palestinian American champion in UFC history, looks to make his first title defense on Saturday against Australian challenger Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) at UFC 315 (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV) in Montreal, a city that has hosted so many big moments for the greatest -- and most popular -- welterweight of all time, Georges St-Pierre. Muhammad has shown tremendous respect for St-Pierre, telling the UFC recently it will be "surreal" for him to fight in GSP's arena.

"That's the guy that's considered the GOAT of your weight class," Muhammad said of St-Pierre. "Someone you always look up to, you watch, you try to mimic."

But he also has made no secret of his desire to be considered the best welterweight of all time himself.

"GOAT is the goal," Muhammad said. "I'm chasing GSP. I'm trying to catch up to him."

He's already tied for fifth-most wins in UFC welterweight history with 15, as it took him a long time to reach the belt. His lack of finishes (six in 24 career wins) has hurt his mainstream appeal. That 25% finishing rate has led to a lot of fan criticism, but in recent interviews Muhammad has predicted a stoppage on Saturday. As his first title defense approaches, ESPN spoke to several of the greatest and most prominent welterweights of the past two decades for their take on Muhammad's skills, his ceiling as a champion and his potential marketability.

Georges St-Pierre, former welterweight and middleweight champion, nine title defenses

"Building a legacy doesn't come overnight. It usually happens at the end of your career [as a champion], and he's at the beginning, so he's got a lot of time. Anything is possible for him. What's held him back in the mainstream is [that] stardom is about charisma. He's not the most flashy; he doesn't have as much attention on him as someone loud. But he's a good fighter, and as time goes by, he will get the attention he deserves.

"He breaks opponents mentally. What people don't understand is [that] when you beat a guy mentally, when he accepts defeat, he doesn't fight to win anymore, he fights to not lose. And it's very hard to [finish] someone when he fights not to lose, because he does not open up. Most of the time, to finish an opponent, you have to surprise him. When you reach a certain level, if the guy is mentally beaten before you can surprise him, it's very hard to finish him. You need to crack the eggs, in a way, to finish. That's what happens to Belal, and it happened to me over my career, too. [His opponent] knows [he] is out of the fight and he doesn't want to get hurt, so he's not going to try to open up to create an opportunity for himself."

Kamaru Usman, former welterweight champion, five title defenses

"Belal was just a guy who was always around. I never really paid attention to Belal, because I was doing what I needed to do. Now that I'm forced to actually look at Belal, he's not bad. He's just good everywhere, and that's been working.

"Once I was forced to pay attention to him, I started to see the antics that go on outside the cage, and I was never that guy. ... Belal is a different type of champion. He's willing to make memes, he's willing to get on social media because he wants the attention. He craves that. Even if you're a lightweight or a flyweight -- not in his division -- he's willing to have that back-and-forth with you. I just find it a bit distasteful.

"I think he's capable of a long reign, though. To have a stronghold on a division, you must be good enough everywhere. In the divisions where you see the championship change hands over and over, there are usually champions who lack some sort of skill. When you look at a guy like Matt Hughes, he could wrestle and grapple, but he could also stand with you. And then you saw the new young guy, Georges St-Pierre. He could find a way to outwrestle you, out-jab you, outkick, out-grapple you. And then myself. I could dominate on the ground, but I can put power on you, too. Belal is in a place where he can do everything pretty good. We haven't seen his punching power, but now that he's champion, give him time to work on being confident in that aspect, and we might see it."

Tyron Woodley, former welterweight champion, four title defenses

"I love Belal. Belal is a guy who used to come to Roufusport gym. When I was the champion, he would drive from Chicago to Milwaukee. I remember him training during Ramadan [a month in the Islamic calendar during which Muslims fast from dawn to sunset], and he wouldn't take a sip of water. He never had any attitude. He never felt any entitlement. He never had any envy or jealousy.

"I didn't see him making it this far back then, but when he made some changes and started training with [former lightweight champion] Khabib Nurmagomedov, I saw a shift. Someone who believes in himself is dangerous. A lot of guys fight out of fear of their opponent. It's special when you start to believe. Like when I was champion, Josh Koscheck was a better wrestler than me; Robbie Lawler was a better brawler than me; Carlos Condit was a better striker than me. I got to a point where I felt I could beat them at their own game. And that's where Belal is right now.

"When it comes to getting respect, at the end of the day, we're not athletes, we're entertainers. And that's so hard. In our sport, you have to fight the toughest guys on earth, where there are so many ways to lose, and then on top of that, you have to be marketable. You always have to have your social media working. You have to have this character. It takes a little time to work that out, and Belal is still in that process. But as he's doing that, he's going to have to find his proper motivation, because for me, I got tired of just trying to prove everyone wrong all the time. I got burned out on that feeling."

Dan Hardy, former welterweight title challenger

"Unfortunately, I think his social media will hold him back. ... His campaigning for Palestine is going to really stifle a lot of his opportunities in the mainstream because some media just won't get behind him, which is a real shame that it's coinciding with his title reign.

"The way for him to overcome this is to start finishing people. He needs to start making it nasty. Like Nurmagomedov, he would talk to you while he was beating you up. There needs to be some of that for fans to gravitate toward. Holding the title is when Usman shifted from being not quite interesting to watch to, 'Oh, I'm excited to see what he does next.' Belal can make that shift. The pressure is off his shoulders now.

"There are moments in a fighter's career where all the ingredients come together at the right time, and I think him winning the belt has helped him realize his potential. And it's not necessarily about finding punching power, because everybody has punching power. It's more down to technique. I'd like to see Belal add some weapons at close range that he can stitch into his boxing. If I were his coach, I'd be thinking about, 'How do we get people out of there?' And you can do that in a lot of different ways. You can cut them, stop them with body shots. You don't need to be a devastating knockout puncher. There will be a niche for Belal to find, to increase how often he's taking guys out."