Belal Muhammad, the former UFC welterweight champion, has publicly stated that he has no intention of forgiving Sean Strickland, the current two-time UFC middleweight champion. Strickland’s recent comments about the Muslim community, made during and leading up to UFC 328, have been deemed offensive by Muhammad.
Strickland, who defeated Khamzat Chimaev for the title, later apologized for his remarks, attributing them to trash talk aimed at generating hype for the fight. He admitted to having gone “too fu**ing hard” in his promotional efforts.
While Chimaev seems to have moved past the incident, Muhammad and other fighters do not share the same sentiment. Muhammad believes that certain topics, such as religion and family, should not be used as marketing tools. In a recent warning to Strickland, he stated:
“Even though the clown apologized, ‘I apologized to my Muslim fans, I was just promoting a fight.’ No, it’s not promoting a fight when you’re talking about religion. When you talk about religion, talk about family, that hits different. I hope to one day step in the cage with that clown before it’s all said and done and just make him bleed.”
Nassourdine Imavov, who is anticipated to be Strickland’s next opponent, also expressed strong feelings. Following Strickland’s victory, Imavov tweeted a threat to “put your lights out.” He further elaborated on his stance, stating:
“They say I take things too personally. Damn right. Religion, family, nation… these aren’t marketing to me. Every insult comes with a price. You’ll pay for it! NO HAPPY ENDING @SStricklandMMA.”
Both Imavov and Muhammad feel that insults targeting religion, family, or nation are beyond the scope of acceptable fight promotion and carry a significant personal cost for the perpetrator.