Is Belal Muhammad From Palestine? Truth About His Roots & the Country He Represents in the UFC

Set for his return tonight, welterweight kingpin, Belal Muhammad headlines UFC 315 in his first defense as champion. But where is the king of the welterweights actually from?

Taking on Jack Della Maddalena tonight in Canada, the minted champion was the subject of controversy in the aftermath of this event’s booking. Born in Illinois, Muhammad represents the country of Palestine. However, troublingly, the former’s flag was not represented on the promotion’s official website card for the flagship event.

Only last week, Muhammad officially received the Palestinian flag on the Tale of the Tape section of the UFC 315 page, headed up by the organization itself.

Laden with the Palestinian flag at last night’s official pre-fight weigh-ins, Muhammad had intended to bring the flag on stage with him before the UFC eventually changed their minds and allowed the flag on their website.

While hailing from the south side of Chicago, Belal shares distinct and clear links to country.

Belal Muhammad’s ethnicity

While born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Belal’s parents, Abdullah and Maha Muhammad, arrived in the United States from Al-Bireh, Palestine – a region in the West Bank under the occupation of Israel since 1967.

And since his ascension to the welterweight throne, Muhammad has valiantly utilized his platform to highlight the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

With his victory over Leon Edwards at UFC 304, he also became the first Palestinian fighter to win Octagon gold in the history of the promotion.

“This is for my people in Palestine, they are fighting the real fight,” Belal bellowed after his championship success.

And during his stunning unbeaten streak in the promotion, whenever afforded the chance, Muhammad has draped the Palestinian flag over himself in the Octagon following victories.

Furthermore, having voiced his displeasure over the issue surrounding the presence of his flag on the site, Belal has twisted the arm of Dana White to reinstate it on the promotion’s site.

“I just want to give a quick shoutout to Dana,” he said in a video posted online.

“I talked to him, he said the flag’s back up tonight. (He) apologized, and that’s why I love the UFC. I love this company, and that’s why Dana’s the man. The only organization that lets you be yourself. And true to his word, and doesn’t let other people sway his attitude or what he’s going to do.”

To boot, Muhammad informed the UFC that regardless of their thoughts, he would not be making his walk to the Octagon without the Palestinian flag wrapped around him this weekend.

“Yeah, 100 per cent. We’ve talked about it, and they’ve accepted it,” Belal told MMA Fighting. “Nothing is going to stop me from doing it,” he noted.