UFC welterweight champ Belal Muhammad believes he’s in a much tougher division than middleweight titleholder Dricus du Plessis.

In an interview with Barstool Chicago, Muhammad was asked the same question he’s been asked in almost every interview since winning his title — would he fight training partner Islam Makhachev? “Remember the Name,” once again, reiterated he has no interest in fighting Makhachev, and if he were to challenge himself against another champ or in a new weight class, he’d go up a division.

“For me, I’d rather go to 185 and let [Makhachev] just take 170,” Muhammad said. “Since I’ve already had to fight my way up to 170 — I’ve beaten five top-10 guys — I’m two fights away from being able to challenge for [the middleweight title] and saying, ‘Hey, I want to be double champ.’ ...

“I think 185 is probably the easiest weight class — besides Khamzat [Chimaev]. When you look at that [UFC 312] main event, you’re like, ‘Bro, Strickland and du Plessis suck.’”

Muhammad has yet to put his title on the line and was scheduled to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in December before an injury forced the champ out of the bout. Rakhmonov went on to defeat short-notice replacement Ian Machado Garry and is expected to get his first championship opportunity later this year.