The new UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has called out top welterweight contender Belal Muhammad (23-3 in MMA) after the latter has shown support for Palestine amidst the country’s conflict with Israel.
Muhammad has been quite vocal about his support for the State of Palestine. He formerly carried the Palestinian flag in each of his fights before the UFC recently prohibited competitors from carrying national flags.
The 35-year-old is renowned for posting materials on social media that demonstrate his love for the divisive West Asian nation. Muhammad used X (previously Twitter) to post a message expressing his support for Palestine in light of the recent rise in hostilities between Israel.
This is what you’d call a coward response. Instead of taking a stand against terrorism and advocating for a peaceful resolution you say this dumb shit… Ignoring what just happened.
Belal you were born in America, you live in America just shut the fuck up. https://t.co/j4IwyTVyCu
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) October 7, 2023
“Pray for Palestine,””- wrote Belal. However, ‘Tarzan’ was not having any of it as he took no time to fire shots at ‘Remember my name’ for his ‘coward’ response. The UFC middleweight champion berated Muhammad for allegedly endorsing the recent Hamas atrocities against Israelis.
Sean Strickland responded to Muhammad’s position by claiming that Muhammad was sabotaging efforts to reach a peaceful conclusion. “This is what you’d call a cowardly response. Instead of taking a stand against terrorism and advocating for a peaceful resolution, you say this dumb sh*t, wrote Sean Strickland on X.
Strickland is not the man who would think twice before speaking about what he feels like. This is also why he hasn’t made many friends in the UFC. Along with his brutal attitude in the Octagon, he’s known for taking an unvarnished approach on the mic.
Belal Muhammad wants to challenge Sean Strickland for the middleweight title
In an unexpected update coming in, Belal Muhammad asserts that he agreed to take on Sean Strickland, who in the last month defeated longtime middleweight king Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision to become the undisputed champion.
‘Bully’ feels that this is the easiest way for him to achieve the legendary ‘champ-champ’ status. However, for this to happen, Sean should remain the middleweight champion until Muhammad wins the belt in the 170-pound division, which is not something that will happen anytime soon.
I said yes to Strickland
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) September 27, 2023
Welterweight champion Leon Edwards (21-3 in MMA) will be defending his title against top contender Colby Covington (17-3 in MMA) at UFC 296 in December, and it is only after that when Belal might finally get the title shot. However, even that is not fully assured as ‘Chaos’ has expressed his desire to make his first defense against Islam Makhachev if he wins the fight at UFC 296.
Muhammad has amassed victories over fighters like Lyman Good, Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, and Gilbert Burns during his impressive winning streak to rise through the welterweight ranks.