Palestinian American mixed martial artist Belal “Remember the Name” Muhammad defeated on Saturday Brazilian fighter Vicente Luque at UFC Fight Night at Apex facility in Las Vegas, dedicating his victory to his Palestinian homeland and to the Palestinian people.
“Holding his own on the feet and dominating in the grappling game, Belal Muhammad scored revenge on an old rival and a top-5 position in the UFC welterweight rankings, defeating Vicente Luque in the main event of UFC Vegas 51”, Fansided magazine reported following the match.
Belal Muhammad used his moment post winning to shed light on Palestine👏🏼 this is winner energy #UFCVegas51 #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/8fLFPiETMg
— lunz 🇵🇸 (@1010ila) April 17, 2022
“Everyone sees what’s going on in Palestine right now. I just wanna give blessings to my people out there. That’s the real fight,” Muhammad said while raising the Palestinian flag.
“This fight is nothing, (…) I’ll give my people a win, that’s all that matters now. I hope I can put a smile on their face”.
Muhammad, who was born in Chicago to Palestinian parents, has always been proud of his Palestinian origins.
This is not the first time he expresses his support for Palestine. Muhammad always carries a flag and shows it at the end of each match.
Belal Muhammad 🇵🇸 with the W! #UFC pic.twitter.com/NlGkS7n72J
— Khaled Beydoun (@KhaledBeydoun) April 17, 2022
In June 2021, Arab News quoted him as saying: “For me now, I have a voice for the voiceless. There aren’t a lot of Palestinian athletes that have a stage or platform where they can carry the flag.”
“And now, especially during these times, I need to carry that flag higher than ever. To show the world that we do exist, that we are a country, and there are real people there.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
