Belal Muhammad Hilariously Reacts to Anchor Thinking He Was a Street Fighting Champ

UFC Champion Belal Muhammad recalls the funniest thing about his Chicago homecoming.

Christopher De Santiago | Sep 4, 2024

Craig Kidwell-Imagn Images

"Do people still not know what the UFC is?"

Welcome Home, Belal Muhammad

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The city of Chicago remembers the name of its first UFC Champion, Palestinian-American Belal Muhammad (24-3, 1 NC), who stole the title from Leon Edwards at UFC 304 this past July in Manchester, England. Muhammad had a homecoming for the ages once he touched back down in the States, surrounded by fans upon his arrival at the airport and celebrated with a community parade thrown in his honor.

"Chicago is epic," Muhammad said on the Anik & Florian Podcast. "We've had the parade for the Bulls, the White Sox, the Cubs and now to finally get one for myself, it was amazing to have family and friends there."

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A post shared by Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170)

Muhammad Confused For Street Fighting Champion

One of the more recent stops on Muhammad's victory tour was on a WGN News segment, with the 36-year-old discussing his upbringing in the sport of mixed martial arts, along with bringing the belt back home to Chicago. During the interview, one of the news anchors had mistaken UFC fighting for street fighting, with Muhammad having to explain the massive difference between the two.

"Is that how you got involved in [UFC], is it not UFC fighting, it's mostly just street fighting... or?" the news anchor asked the UFC Welterweight Champion.

"Mixed martial arts," Muhammad replied on the spot.

This daytime show host thought UFC champion Belal Muhammad was a street fighter 😭 pic.twitter.com/5c4oDawHo0
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) August 30, 2024

Muhammad's "WTF?" Response

"Remember The Name" was surprised to say the least that some people don't have a good grasp on the sport of MMA and its premier promotion, the UFC.

"The funniest thing [about the homecoming] is that I was on WGN News, the big news network here, and then the lady goes, 'Oh, you're the champion of street fighting?' And I'm like, bro, do people still not know what the UFC is?" Muhammad said.

"It was hilarious but it was just cool to be on WGN News... I was like what the f***?"

Belal Muhammad responds to being called a street fighter on one of Chicago’s largest news platforms, MMA still has a long way to go https://t.co/ld6AUjMliS pic.twitter.com/7ep6upY0KD
— Anik & Florian Podcast (@AnikFlorianPod) September 3, 2024

Far from a street fighter, the 28-fight MMA veteran looks to defend his world title as early as December against whoever the UFC gives him.