Quick Answer
Belal Muhammad at Jiu Jitsu
- BJJ Belt · Brown belt
- Coach or Lineage · Daniel Wanderley (fifth degree BJJ black belt, Carlson Gracie lineage). Based in Chicago
- Our BJJ Rating · 6/10
- Last Updated · April 2026
Good, functional, and overshadowed by his wrestling. Belal is a BJJ brown belt under Daniel Wanderley, a fifth degree black belt in the Carlson Gracie lineage in Chicago. His cage game is wrestle and control first, jiu jitsu second, and that formula won him the welterweight title before he lost it to Islam Makhachev.
What Belt Is Belal Muhammad in Jiu Jitsu
Belal Muhammad is a Brazilian jiu jitsu brown belt. His instructor is Daniel Wanderley, a fifth degree black belt in the Carlson Gracie lineage who coaches out of the Chicago area.
Wanderley himself is a decorated coach who has produced multiple UFC fighters and won important BJJ titles in his own competition career. That makes Belal’s brown belt a serious technical credential, even if it is not the black belt rank some of his peers hold.
Muhammad’s Coach and Training Background
Daniel Wanderley moved to Chicago in 2005, trained with Master Carlson Gracie, and received his black belt shortly after. He built out a coaching practice in the Chicago area that eventually included Belal among a long list of professional fighters.
Belal has spent most of his career based out of the Chicago fight scene, which also includes wrestling and MMA specific grappling work. His brown belt is earned through academy progression, not gifted.
How Belal’s Jiu Jitsu Shows Up in the Octagon
Muhammad’s cage game is built on pressure, clinch work and wrestling, with his BJJ acting as the finishing system once he gets to dominant position. He is not a submission hunter. He has only a handful of submission wins in a long UFC career.
His welterweight title win over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 was a grappling decision. Takedowns, top control, and suffocating pressure over five rounds. His 2025 title loss to Islam Makhachev was a grappling loss in the other direction. Islam simply had a higher level grappling game and finished him.
The Brown Belt Debate
Some fans wonder why a former UFC champion is still a brown belt. The answer is that his coach Wanderley cares about the integrity of the rank and has not promoted Belal until the BJJ specific standards are met. That is a mark of seriousness, not a shortfall in ability.
The Verdict on Belal Muhammad’s Jiu Jitsu
Solid MMA grappling built on wrestling with brown belt BJJ on top. Enough to win a title, not enough to solve an elite pure grappler like Islam Makhachev at his peak. Nothing to be embarrassed about.
Our rating, 6 out of 10. Competent, technically sound, and capped by his grappling losses at the very top of the division.
Part of our ongoing series ranking the BJJ of every notable UFC fighter and BJJ practicing celebrity. See the full Fighter BJJ Profiles index.
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