Belal Muhammad has confirmed his intention to walk to the octagon carrying the Palestinian flag when he defends his welterweight title for the first time at UFC 315 in Montreal on May 10.
While he has carried the flag in prior fights, there was some uncertainty after it was briefly removed from his official UFC profile. Muhammad clarified that this was merely an error that the UFC quickly rectified.
Regarding walking out with the flag, Muhammad stated confidently, “Yeah, 100 percent. We`ve talked about it and they`ve accepted it. Nothing is going to stop me from doing it.”
Muhammad, whose family is from Palestine, has been a strong and vocal advocate concerning the ongoing situation in the region since the conflict escalated. He has actively organized fundraisers and demonstrated his support for Palestine through interviews and social media platforms.
He plans to maintain these efforts in the days leading up to his upcoming fight against Jack Della Maddalena.
Muhammad described the current situation as deeply challenging, saying, “It`s hard, especially right now. It`s been over two years now where they`re dying, they`re starving, the people over there are in so much pain. The world`s just watching it. The world`s just coming up with excuses for it. It`s wild.”
While defending his UFC title is very important to him, Muhammad maintains that he is always fighting for something greater, particularly in light of reports indicating severe shortages of medicine, fuel, and food in Gaza over the past 60 days.
Despite the horrific conditions, Muhammad previously revealed that he received messages of encouragement and congratulations after winning his UFC title last July. This support has provided even more motivation for him heading into the title bout at UFC 315.
He elaborated on his driving force, saying, “For me, it just makes me want to work that much harder for them. It makes me go to the gym, run that extra mile, lift that extra weight. Because I can`t lose. There`s no way I`m going to let the people see me not get my hand raised. When they see me fight that day, they`re going to see that flag get raised… When they see me win that day, they`re going to see that flag get raised. They`re going to see me get on the mic and talk about them. They`re going to see me get on the mic and be a voice for them.” He added, “The only way I can be their voice is by continuing to win. I just have to keep continuing to work, keep continuing to push it and it`s all in god`s hands. God has a plan for everything and I`m hoping this finally comes to an end soon.”
As much as he is focused on his upcoming fight, Muhammad stated that the people of Palestine remain constantly in his thoughts. This is why he dedicates equal time to raising awareness about the situation as he does to building anticipation for his return on May 10.
This unwavering commitment is the core reason Muhammad is so determined to carry the flag to the octagon – to continue representing the Palestinian people on the most significant global platform available to him.
He concluded by reflecting on the messages he receives, saying, “Like I said, I`ve just been getting so many messages, people just wanting to know what`s happening there because they see me carrying that flag and what it means and what it means to me… If you`re human, you want to know what`s going on there. If you`re human and you see it and you ignore it, you`re not really human. You don`t have a soul. If you can see kids starving, if you see kids dying, if you see all their suffering and you just turn your head away, look at yourself in the mirror and really ask yourself: What would you do if those people were from a different country? What would I do if those people weren`t Arab? What would I do if those people weren`t this color?” He added a final powerful point: “Just so many people out here that are afraid to speak up, afraid to say something, afraid to do anything because they`re afraid of the consequences. There shouldn`t be consequences for being human.”
