The brewing conflict between former UFC competitor Jake Shields and Israeli MMA sensation Haim Gozali has caught the attention of many.
The recent escalation saw Gozali taking aim at Shields through a provocative image featuring an Israeli missile bearing Shields’ name. This move by Gozali came in the wake of his prior controversial online posts, including one with the names of Muslim MMA combatants on a missile.
Shields retaliated by labeling Gozali as a “cowardly Israeli fighter.”
He tweeted:
“Cowardly Israeli fighter making threats against my life @Haimgozali
When I saw him at the gym he wouldn’t train with me but I watched a 13 year old kid submit him
If you have the b*lls I’ll fight you anywhere anytime but I know you will make excuses”
In a video response, Gozali fearlessly addressed the flood of threatening messages he received. He staunchly defended his earlier posts as well.
Gozali said: “You people send me messages, cursing me, threatening me. You think I give a sh*t? You think I’m afraid of you? Come on, you can send me as much as messages you want.”
“I’m going to tell you one thing to all the website that said that I put the name of a Muslim fighter on the missile. No, I put four names of people that spreading lies, spreading fake news, spreading hate to my country, Israel…”
“Send me message. You’re going to kill me? You’re going to die. You’re going to do that? Come on, guys, I’m an Israeli. You think I’m afraid of you? You think I’m afraid of all this bullsh**t?”
Gozali didn’t stop there. He expressed readiness to face prominent Muslim combatants like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, Khamzat Chimaev, and Belal Muhammad in a bare-knuckle showdown.
Shields then retaliated to Gozali’s video by accusing him of being a “coward” and condemning his actions as harmful.
He tweeted:
“You are coward and the only thing you know how to do is kill unarmed Children
You are an absolute nobody and you get off threatening the life is me and many great Muslim fighters
Step up and fight me because you are a D-list fighter at best”
Amidst the ongoing feud with Haim Gozali, Shields faced backlash for expressing solidarity with Palestine. Using his social platform, the former Strikeforce middleweight champion highlighted the treatment of Palestinians and talked about ongoing conflicts with Israel.
Undeterred by online ridicule, Shields expressed disappointment at the negative reception for raising concerns about what he termed as “torture.”
He said: “I post a picture from Wikipedia about one of Israelis’ Torture camps, and instead of people condemning their torture, they call me anti-Semitic…These people should be ashamed of themselves…Being opposed to torture is not anti-Semitic.”
