UFC welterweight star Belal Muhammad has built a reputation on strong opinions and bold hot takes. Well, he offered up a new one on Wednesday that is sure to get many eye rolls and face-palms this week.
On Saturday in Qatar, Muhammad will return to the Octagon for a big co-main event matchup with top-10 welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry. After suffering his first loss in six years in May, the former division champion has a chance to get back into the title picture if he can score a dominant victory this weekend.
As is the norm for fight week, the 37-year-old took part in an interview with the media in Qatar to talk about his bout on Saturday. The conversation eventually led to him giving his thoughts about the fire he still has for the sport as he closes in on 40, and how training with young athletes has helped. But in explaining that truth, his brain took his mouth to a ridiculous place.
Belal Muhammad record: 24-4 (5 knockouts, 1 submission)
“My future’s bright. I am training with young monsters,” Muhammad said. “Ignacio Bahamondes is probably 28, and I think he is one of the best strikers in the UFC. I got a 17-year-old, Nacho’s younger brother, who’s a monster. It feels like the Epstein files without the sex. I’m getting their powers through sparring and training. So it feels good.”
The comment is just the latest in an era of fight promotion where no comment or opinion seems off-limits for UFC talent. It is something fight fans have seen often from the likes of Conor McGregor, Colby Covington, and Sean Strickland over the last five years. It would not be surprising if Muhammad gets a call or text from his boss, Dana White, about the comment this week.
If you were under a rock for the last two decades, Jeffrey Epstein is an infamous financier turned sex trafficker whose victims were underage females.
