Belal Muhammad wants to fulfill a dream he's had for a literal decade ... punching Colby Covington in the face!!
TMZ Sports talked to the 33-year-old fighter after his unanimous decision victory over perennial title contender, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson on Saturday ... and we asked Belal who he'd fight if the 170 lb. champ, Kamaru Usman wasn't an option.
"I always wanted to hit Colby in the face," Muhammad told us.
The 20-3 fighter continued ... "I've been calling for this fight for like 10 years now. Even before he was higher up there, before he was in the rankings, before he was all this. I just dislike that guy, hated that guy. Always wanted to punch him in the face."
33-year-old Covington is coming off a loss to Usman ... a rematch of their December 2019 fight. Both fights were exciting/action-packed ... but Kamaru won both.
Still, Chaos is the #1 ranked contender ... and eventually wants to get another shot at the title.
What if Belal doesn't get Kamaru or Colby?
Well, Muhammad also says he's down to scrap with Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal ... two guys with which he has some history.
Belal and Leon fought in March 2021 ... but the fight was ruled a no-contest after Edwards inadvertently poked Muhammad in the eye.
As for Masvidal ... Belal has issues with Jorge's management company, First Round Management, claiming he fired them back in the day, and now there's bad blood.
So, will it be Colby, Leon, Jorge? That's TBD, but one thing's clear ... Belal Muhammad is likely just 1 good win away from a title shot.