Ringside manners: UFC Palestinian star Belal Muhammad on heritage, fighting and faith

Belal “Remember The Name” Muhammad, the UFC’s first champion of Palestinian origin, has been preparing this week to co-headline the first-ever Fight Night in Qatar, marking an important moment for the region. Euronews correspondent Aadel Haleem sat down with the 37 year-old Palestinian-American to discuss his identity, faith and the growth of mixed martial arts across the Middle East.

Belal, you’re co-headlining the UFC’s first Fight Night in Qatar. You’ve been training here - how’s the experience been so far?

Belal Muhammad: It's been amazing, the people, the energy, the culture. It's just peaceful. You just feel like a different version of yourself. You feel more spiritual here.

You made history as the UFC’s first Palestinian champion. Describe the feeling of entering the Octagon with the flag around your shoulders and leaving with the belt around your waist?

I 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 there's not a lot of people out here doing it there's not a lot of athletes doing it so 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, you know, it felt good, but there's still more. More that can be done, more for them that needs to be done. So 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.

How has your identity shaped your mindset as a fighter?

Palestinian blood inside of me, they're born fighters. We're not the best athletes. We're not 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. And for me to have that as a fighter is priceless.

The UFC’s debut in Qatar marks a major milestone for MMA in the Middle East. How do you see this event influencing the sport’s growth in the region?

It's huge, right? I think they love it here, the people here, the energy, the crowd, I think is going to be huge. And I think it's going to a better crowd than most of the American cities. The people in America are going to get drunk, they're going to throw stuff, stay in stupid stuff. I think here it's gonna be people that respect every single fighter, people here that are going just want to enjoy the fights and enjoy the combat.

What’s your advice for young fighters here in the Arab world, with dreams of becoming the next Belal Muhammad?

My advice is you’ve got to outwork everybody. Nothing is going to be given to you easily. Nothing is gonna be handed to you. Just know that it's gonna be hard. It's gonna be long days, long nights. But just first have your faith in Allah, trust His plan and work for it.

I try to outwork everybody else. I started late in my career. I wasn't born into martial arts or anything like that. So starting late, I'm always playing catch up. And for me to play catch up, I’ve got to work that much harder than everybody else now.

MMA has exploded globally, but every region has its own flavor and fan culture. What makes the Middle Eastern MMA audience special in your eyes?

I just think the respect, the people here, there's not going to be any booing, there is not going to be any trash talk, you have those fans that are going to say stupid stuff, there is not gonna be none of that here. I think a lot of respect and a lot just like calmness in this crowd.

It's going to be a hometown crowd for you, right?

Yeah, 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 is going to be cheering the crowd that are going to be there for me, it's going to feel amazing.

You talk a lot about discipline and perseverance being key to your rise. What keeps you mentally sharp and motivated heading into Fight Night?

Like I said, faith, tawakkul - everything happens for a reason. Whatever's meant to happen is gonna happen. So it's not about fear of the result. It's not hoping for something. Yeah, everybody always wants to win, right? But if it doesn't happen, it was meant to happen that way. If you lose, you're meant to lose. Once you have that faith, it just frees you of the result. And once you're free of the result, you're free in the cage. And once your free in the cage, that's the best version of yourself.

And finally, 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?

Yeah, 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. It may take you longer, but at the end of the day, the long road sometimes is the best road.