Khamzat Chimaev agrees to fight Belal Muhammad as long as both represent Palestine

Luthfi Prawiro

UFC rising star Khamzat Chimaev made a peculiar deal with Belal Muhammad on Twitter. The two have negotiated a clash for later this year. However, Chimaev has one condition, Muhammad can’t bring the Palestinian flag to the octagon.

Which is kind of a joke – because Muhammad was previously not given a post fight interview when Palestine was a hot topic and the flags have since been entirely banned as to not put the UFC in a precarious position weighing in on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Despite being born and raised in Chicago, the 33-year-old Muhammad is proud of his Palestinian heritage. He proves his love for his homeland by bringing the Palestinian flag into battle all the time. The devout Muslim has even publicly criticized Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

While Chimaev, on the other hand, is a Muslim from Chechnya, Russia. Despite the background differences between the two, as a fellow Muslim, Chimaev also sympathizes with the struggles of the Palestinians. That’s why he named the peculiar condition to Muhammad.

“I will fight you if you don’t take the Palestinian flag into battle, Belal Muhammad.” Chimaev tweeted.

Muhammad proposed an alternative idea. Replying to Chimaev’s tweet, Muhammad said that he will bring ‘Borz’ another Palestinian flag to show that they both fighting for the same cause. Which again is kinda hilarious considering UFC flag ban is very much a real thing.

“Respect bro ..Il bring a flag for you too and we both fight FOR Palestine.. I can’t bring the flag down to battlefield anymore even if I wanted to. But…دمي فلسطيني (my blood is Palestinian)”

Chimaev, apparently fond of the idea, responded:

“October Abu Dhabi 👊🏼💥”

The showdown between two of the welterweight top five surely will likely result in a number one contender spot. Chimaev is currently sitting on No.3 in the roster, while Muhammad sits on No. 5.

The welterweight gold is currently held by ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ Kamaru Usman, who is also the Pound-For-Pound king of the UFC. While he has no fight booked, he is rumored to be fighting longtime top contender Leon Edwards this year.