Ringside manners: UFC Palestinian star Belal Muhammad on heritage, fighting and faith
Belal Muhammad, the UFC’s first champion of Palestinian origin tells Euronews Culture about his journey to the top of an extremely competitive sport, co-headlining the first-ever Fight Night in Qatar and how his faith grounds him through it all.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/11/22/ringside-manners-ufc-palestinian-champion-belal-muhammad-on-heritage-fighting-and-faith
Spark your senses, wake your wonder. Euronews Culture seeks to show creativity in action and inspire our audience to explore the world through the five senses. Start your journey through the best of Europe's arts, gastronomy, traditions and high-end craftsmanship.
00:13The UFC's first ever fight night in Qatar marks a historic moment for the region and for Bullah Muhammad.
00:20The first fighter of Palestinian heritage to win a UFC title, he's back in the octagon to headline the co-main event in Doha.
00:27I sat down with a 37-year-old to discuss what motivates him and what this milestone means for mixed martial arts in the Middle East.
00:41Bilal, you're co-headlining the first ever UFC fight night in Qatar.
00:45You've already been here a couple of weeks. How's the, for training, how's the experience been so far?
00:49It's been amazing. The people, the energy, the culture, it's just peaceful.
00:54You just feel like a different version of yourself. You feel like more spiritual here.
00:59Now you're the first ever Palestinian champion. Describe that experience walking into the ring,
01:03wearing the flag around your shoulders and then leaving with the belt around your waist.
01:07I mean, it's amazing, right? It's like one of those things to give them someone that they can look at that's carrying their flag.
01:14There's not a lot of people out here doing it. There's not a lot of athletes doing it.
01:17So to have a platform where I could do it and to carry it higher than anybody else and to be a world champion with the flag,
01:23you know, it felt, it felt good, but it's still like, there's still more, more that can be done, more for them that needs to be done.
01:32So whatever chance I get, whatever opportunity I get to carry that flag, to raise that flag, to bring awareness to them, I have to do it.
01:40So how has your identity shaped your mindset as a fighter?
01:43Palestinian blood inside of me, just, they're born fighters. Like, we're not the best athletes.
01:49We're not the best, the tallest, the strongest, the quickest, but we have more heart than anybody in the world and we have no give up and no quit in us.
01:58And for me to have that as a fighter, it's priceless.
02:02The UFC's debut in Qatar marks a major milestone for MMA in the Middle East. How do you see this playing out moving forward?
02:08It's huge, right? I think they love it here. The people here, the energy, the crowd, I think is going to be huge.
02:14And I think it's going to be a better crowd than most of the American cities.
02:18The people in America are going to be drunk, they're going to be throwing stuff, saying stupid stuff.
02:22I think here it's going to be people that respect every single fighter, people here that are going to just want to enjoy the fights and enjoy the combat.
02:28What's your advice to young Arab fighters who might be watching this and want to be the next Valal Mohammed?
02:33My advice is you've got to outwork everybody. Nothing's going to be given to you easily, nothing's going to be handed to you.
02:38Just know that it's going to be hard, it's going to be long days, long nights.
02:45But just first, have your faith in Allah, trust His plan, and work for it.
02:51I try to outwork everybody else. I started late in my career. I didn't start, wasn't born into martial arts or anything like that.
02:56So starting late, it's, I'm always playing catch up. And for me to play catch up, I got to work that much harder than everybody else now.
03:03MMA has exploded globally, but every region is different, a little different taste, different feel.
03:08What is it about a Middle Eastern MMA audience that stands out?
03:11I just think the respect, the people here, there's not going to be any booing, there's not going to be any like trash talk.
03:17You have those fans, they're going to be saying stupid stuff. There's not going to be none of that here.
03:21I think a lot of respect and a lot of just like calmness in this crowd.
03:25It's going to be a hometown crowd, find it for you, right?
03:27Yeah, I mean, I love to fight in the Middle East every time I get, right? It's different. And to have that energy, to have the crowd that's going to be cheering, the crowd that's going to be there for me, it's going to be, it's going to feel amazing.
03:40Now you talk a lot about discipline and perseverance and faith. What keeps you mentally sharp heading into the fight night?
03:46Like I said, faith. Everything happens for a reason. Whatever's meant to happen is going to happen. So it's not about fear of the result. It's not about hoping for something.
03:55Yeah, everybody always wants to win, right? But if it doesn't happen, it was meant to happen that way.
04:01If we lose, you're meant to happen. You're meant to lose. Once you have that faith, it just like frees you of the result.
04:07And once you're free of the result, you're free in the cage. And once you're free in the cage, that's the best version of yourself.
04:11Now you're still very active, but what do you hope your legacy will be, not just as a fighter, but as a role model for Palestinians and Muslim athletes around the world?
04:19Yeah, I mean, to the Palestinian and Muslim athletes, to show that you're not afraid to represent who you are, to be who you are, to carry your flag, no matter who's telling you not to, who's trying to stop you from doing it.
04:31It may take you longer, but at the end of the day, the long road sometimes is the best road.
04:39Good luck this weekend, thanks so much for your time.
Be the first to comment