Belal Muhammad says Ian Machado Garry used eye pokes at UFC Qatar

Belal Muhammad has said that Ian Machado Garry used eye pokes to take advantage of him at UFC Qatar, where the former lost on unanimous decision.

After his first fight with Leon Edwards ended in a no-contest after a brutal eye poke, he suffered a de ja vu in his most recent bout with Garry. The fight was stopped several times when the former welterweight champion complained about eye pokes, but the referee did not take action against the Irish fighter.

Ultimately, Muhammad lost the fight on a unanimous decision, but said that Garry did the eye pokes on purpose and took advantage of it.

“What did we see in the fight? Obviously, we didn’t see much,” Muhammad said on his YouTube channel.

“Got poked in the eye three times. What are you going to do, right? I said Ian was very smart at figuring out ways to win fights and understands how to win.

“He understood poking an eye was going to win the fight, especially when you do it early. Especially when you don’t get points taken away from you. The rules need to be changed. There needs to be repercussions. Otherwise, guys are going to keep doing it. What’s the point?”

When it comes to voicing frustration against eye pokes, Muhammad is not the only one. Recently, UFC CEO Dana White has also said that “harder penalties” are the only solution for eye pokes.

According to Belal Muhammad, eye pokes played a role in his loss, but he also praised the performances of his opponent.

“Ian was pretty smart,” Muhammad said. “He’s very good with his distance management. We knew he was going to be sticking and moving. Obviously, we pushed for five rounds. A three-round fight, you’ve got to start faster. You’ve got to start earlier. You’ve got to catch them earlier. For me, we’ve got to change that. We’ve got to step on the gas sooner.

“By the third round, we figured out the distance, we figured out the style but it was already too late. You’ve got to do that sooner. Also for myself, we’ve just got to get better.”