Belal Muhammad is not treating Sean Strickland’s UFC 328 apology like some clean little reset button.
Muhammad reacted to Strickland’s win over Khamzat Chimaev after Strickland regained the UFC middleweight title by split decision at UFC 328. The former UFC welterweight champion had plenty to say about Chimaev’s performance, the scoring, Strickland’s style, and the religious trash talk that made the buildup ugly before both fighters appeared to squash things afterward.
Belal did not hide his frustration after Chimaev came up short.
“My man Khamzat Chimaev, he didn’t look right,” Muhammad said. “He didn’t look like the same wolf, like the killer. By the second round, when he pulled him on top, I was like, man, something’s wrong. Something’s going on. I don’t know if it was a weight cut issue, adding too much muscle, if he was going up to 205. Could have been a lot.”
Watch Muhammad’s full breakdown below:
Muhammad said much of the reaction focused on Chimaev’s mistakes instead of anything Strickland did well.
“What I’m hearing the most out of all this, and even not for myself, was giving Strickland his credit for stuff that he did,” Muhammad said. “Everything’s Khamzat did this wrong, Khamzat, it was the weight cut, it was the strength and conditioning coach, it was the rehydration. I mean, that just means everybody knows Strickland sucks.”
Muhammad still scored the fight for Chimaev, but he understood why the optics may have hurt him.
“I still thought he won the fight 3-2 if I’m being honest,” Muhammad said. “I thought he was landing harder shots on the feet. Strickland was landing a lot of jabs. He defended a couple takedowns, but damage-wise, he did break Strickland’s nose, but Khamzat was a little bit beat up himself.”
Muhammad said judges may have viewed Chimaev differently because people expected him to dominate with wrestling.
“I think it also comes down to the judges assuming that Khamzat could only win by taking him down,” Muhammad said. “And the fact that he stayed on his feet, people were assuming something’s wrong, he didn’t look good, he can’t compete with him on the feet.”
Muhammad Says Strickland Crossed A Line With Religion And Family Talk
Muhammad’s tone changed when he turned from the fight itself to Strickland’s trash talk. He said he wanted to hear Chimaev explain what happened, but had no interest in hearing Strickland justify the buildup.
“I’m excited to see his first interview out, and I’m excited to see what he says about it,” Muhammad said. “And I’m not excited to see Strickland talk.”
Then he went straight at Strickland’s apology.
“Because I will say this, even though the clown apologized, and you know, ‘I apologized to my Muslim fans, I was just promoting the fight.’ No, it’s not promoting the fight when you’re talking about religion.”
Muhammad said Strickland has a habit of going hard before a fight, then sounding friendly afterward.
“He always plays that role,” Muhammad said. “I hate him saying stupid stuff, and then afterward, ‘I love this guy, this guy is the best, blah blah blah.’ No. When you’re talking about religion, you’re talking about family, that it’s different.”
That is where Muhammad turned it into something personal. He has mostly fought at welterweight, while Strickland is now a two-time UFC middleweight champion, but Muhammad still wants the cage time if the opening ever comes.
“I hope to one day step in the cage with that clown before it’s all said and done, and just make him bleed,” Muhammad said.
Muhammad also circled back to the actual fight and said Strickland did well defensively when Chimaev completed takedowns.
“In the Strickland fight, also, Strickland did a very good job of when Khamzat would get the takedown, not letting him get the Dagestani handcuff,” Muhammad said. “He was doing a good job of keeping his hands up, and I think that was making it tough for Khamzat to keep him down, keep him on the ground.”
Muhammad believes Chimaev can make adjustments if the rematch happens, especially because the double legs appeared available.
“The double legs look like they were super easy to get,” Muhammad said. “That’s why I’m interested to see how a second fight would go, if he would get him down and attack it a lot easier, a lot faster with the double legs.”
The one thing Muhammad still wants answered is what happened when Chimaev appeared to fade.
“I just want to know what happened in that second round,” Muhammad said. “I just want to know, was it an adrenaline dump? Was it just random stuff?”
Sean Brady also criticized the buildup and the post-fight peace between Strickland and Chimaev during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“If you’re talking about my mom, and my children, my religion, I’m fighting you if I see you in the parking lot,” Brady said. “Wherever I see you, it’s going to be like Peter Griffin and the rooster in Family Guy. They’re always fighting each other. You can’t talk about people that way and then be all buddy-buddy about it.”
Watch Brady’s full appearance below:
Brady said there are limits, even in fight promotion.
“I get selling a fight, but there’re certain things you just can’t say,” Brady said. “Once you cross that line, there’s no coming back, on some Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov grudge sh*t.”
He also said the handshake after the fight made the buildup feel hollow.
“There’s certain lines you don’t go and cross, and when you do, there’s going to be consequences,” Brady said. “I’m a fan of Khamzat and Strickland, but once they started dapping each other up in the cage, I was like, you guys just did all that, all this security, all this sh*t talking for that?”
Brady said fans did not need that kind of sell job to care about Strickland vs. Chimaev.
“It was a good fight, but it wasn’t what we all thought it was going to be,” Brady said. “I was a little let down. I’m not a fan of the sh*t talking anyway. People would have tuned in for that fight regardless. If you’re going to say all these things, you’ve got to keep the same energy forever.”
Muhammad has history with Strickland, and this did not cool anything down. Strickland has title business at middleweight, Muhammad is still a welterweight contender after losing the belt, and there is no official fight between them. Muhammad thinks Strickland crossed the line, and if the UFC ever gives him the chance, he wants the cage to settle it.
