Belal Muhammad reacts to Chicago TV anchor calling him a “Street fighter” in bizarre interview

One of UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad’s post-UFC 304 interviews didn’t go according to plan in his native Chicago.

Muhammad earned the UFC welterweight title by defeating Leon Edwards by unanimous decision in Manchester. The title win came after a long road to the belt which included wins over Gilbert Burns, Stephen Thompson, and Vicente Luque.

In the aftermath of his UFC 304 title win, Muhammad received a heroes’ welcome in Chicago. But, an interview with WGN News featured an awkward moment, when one of the anchors implied that Muhammad was involved in ‘street-fighting’.

You can watch the incident below. The remark is timestamped (at the 0:40 mark).

Belal Muhammad reacts to ‘street fighter’ comment during Chicago TV interview

During a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Muhammad reflected on the awkward interview after winning the UFC welterweight title.

“I did an interview with Chicago news, and the lady was like, she had no idea who I was,” Muhammad said. “She was like ‘You’re the champion of street fighting, right?’…it was wild. People still think that…I didn’t realize there were still people out there that have that mindset…

“I’m looking at the teleprompter, and I feel like that’s all they do, just read the teleprompter…I was like don’t you have a sports anchor that could interview me? Or do a second of research.”

For context: the TV anchor didn’t call Muhammad the ‘champion of street fighting’ during the above interview, although the comment might’ve been made off the air.

Unfortunately, the stigma surrounding MMA fighters like Muhammad is still prevalent. The late U.S. Senator John McCain once referred to MMA as ‘human cockfighting’ as the sport was struggling to gain relevance.

Muhammad could potentially return by the end of the year to defend the welterweight belt. Shavkat Rakhmonov is the likely next title challenger after an unbeaten UFC run.