Belal Muhammad knows he’s in a no-win situation for his upcoming wrestling match.

Muhammad is set to take on former Bellator and ONE Championship champion Ben Askren at RAF 11 on July 18. It’s Askren’s first time competing since his near-death encounter, which resulted in him having a double lung transplant.

Now, not even a full year after the surgery, Askren will return to competition to face Muhammad. Given that the storyline will be about Akren, Muhammad knows he’s in a tough spot as everyone will be rooting for ‘Funky’ to win.

“He’s winning at life just being there,” Muhammad said to MMAJunkie. “Winning at life just being willing to compete again and to be on the mats again. There’s no losing. It’s a lose-lose situation for me, right? If I win, I’m going to get booed. If I lose, I’m going to get booed regardless. For myself, it’s a win just to be a part of it.”

Belal Muhammad ‘honored’ to wrestle Ben Askren

Although Muhammad believes he’s in a lose-lose situation, he is still eager to wrestle Ben Askren.

Muhammad said before agreeing to wrestle Askren, he had to make sure he was completely healthy and able to compete. Once he got confirmation, Muhammad said he’s honored to be in Askren’s return match.

“They brought it to me last week and obviously my first question was the same as everyone else: Is he healthy? Is he good?” Muhammad said. “They said, ‘Yeah, he’s healthy. He’s good. He’s training wrestling.’ Obviously, his story is epic. It’s a miracle that he’s even here today. The fact he wants to compete, and I get to be in there with him, to be a part of that story, is huge. It’s an honor to be there in his hometown, to be his comeback fight, comeback match. It could be his last match. I wasn’t going to say no at all.”

But before Muhammad can wrestle Askren, he’s set to headline UFC Vegas 118 on Saturday against Gabriel Bonfim. Muhammad is looking to get back into the win column after back-to-back losses to Ian Machado Garry and Jack Della Maddalena, to lose his welterweight title.

Do you think Belal Muhammad will beat Gabriel Bonfim?