Belal Muhammad have the opportunity to make history in UFC 304.
Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) will face welterweight champion Leon Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) in the July 27 main event at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
With Israel’s continued military offensive against Palestine, Muhammad admits it has been a difficult time to enjoy his recent success. The Palestinian-American has received a lot of support from his home country and plans to honor it by becoming the first Palestinian to win UFC gold.
“Honestly, it’s one of those things where you get really emotional when you think about it,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “You start thinking about little things. You think about how excited you want to be because this is a great opportunity, this is a dream you’ve been working towards. This is that moment. But you know your people are suffering. Your people are dying now, and it’s the worst time in my life that I can witness and see it every day. You feel guilty for being happy for yourself because you know what they are going through there. This will motivate me to train even more. This will give me fuel to not cut corners.
“It will fuel me to make sure I put my hand up because they need a win more than anything. They need a win. They need to have that flag flying with the UFC title. They need to have this flag flying with the colors associated with the hit. It will be in the history books forever. No one will be able to erase this. No one will be able to say anything about this. No one can doubt that they will have a Palestinian champion, 100%, 1,000%. If that day, that moment makes them forget what they’re going through for 10, 15 minutes, that’s the least I can do.”
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC 304.
