Belal Muhammad

Belal Muhammad is an American professional mixed martial artist of Palestinian descent, born in Chicago on 9 July 1988.¹² He won the Titan FC welterweight title and then, in July 2024, the UFC welterweight championship, becoming the first UFC champion of Palestinian descent; he lost the title in May 2025.¹ He is known for his wrestling-based fighting style and for his outspoken support of Palestine.¹

Muhammad was born and raised in Chicago to Palestinian parents and wrestled at Bogan High School; he graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a law degree.¹³ A professional since 2012, he beat Steve Carl in 2016 to win the Titan FC welterweight championship with a record of 9–0, and made his UFC debut that July, losing to Alan Jouban.¹ On 27 July 2024, at UFC 304, he beat Leon Edwards by unanimous decision to win the UFC welterweight championship, the first fighter of Palestinian descent to win a UFC title.¹ His scheduled first defence against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 fell through when he developed a bone infection in his foot, and on 10 May 2025, at UFC 315, he lost the title to Jack Della Maddalena by unanimous decision.¹ He has also competed in freestyle wrestling with Real American Freestyle, beating former UFC fighter Ben Askren in July 2026 and losing to Colby Covington that September.¹

This section sets out different positions as reported in the sources. It is not a verdict by the museum. The English article describes Muhammad as "an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian people", raising awareness of attacks on them, carrying the Palestinian flag to weigh-ins and press conferences, and speaking up for Gaza during the Gaza war; it records criticism by journalists and fellow fighters of his posts after the October 7 attacks.¹ On the question of faith, the English article states "Muhammad is a Muslim" and the Arabic article states the same, while Wikidata gives his religion as Islam generically; no source consulted names a school for him.¹³² Because no source names a school (Sunni) for him personally, his school is recorded in the museum's data as unknown, following the same reading applied to Amr Khaled.¹²

• Belal Muhammad — English Wikipedia¹
• Belal Muhammad — Arabic Wikipedia³
• Belal Muhammad — Wikidata Q27068531²