UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad isn’t a fan of Sean Strickland’s characteristics and persona in and out of the Octagon.
Muhammad is set to face Vicente Luque in a rematch at an April 16 UFC Fight Night event. The winner will be one step closer to a chance to dethrone welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
Muhammad and Strickland have had a bit of history, stemming from when both of them were in the 170-pound division. Strickland began his UFC tenure as a welterweight before eventually moving up to middleweight, where he now stands potentially one fight away from a title shot.
Muhammad started the banter by calling Strickland a “piece of trash” after offering to step in to fight Strickland at UFC 268. Strickland was supposed to face Luke Rockhold, who would pull out with an injury.
After getting word of Muhammad’s comments, Strickland went off on Muhammad and hinted at living out a desert fantasy with Muhammad in Las Vegas. Strickland went on to fight and defeat Jack Hermansson last month to rise in the middleweight title picture.
During a recent interview with The Schmo, Muhammad gave his honest opinions about Strickland and why he has a strong disdain for him.
“That guy is a joke,” Muhammad said. “Like what I told you, we had a chance to fight each other, his opponent pulls out, I called him out. He said ‘No, it wasn’t worth it’ but this guy is the killer, the murderer that wants to kill everybody, that’ll fight anybody. But as we see in his last fight, it’s all talk. It’s all an act.
“Sean Strickland, stop acting. Just come out with it, it’s cool. You watch Saturday night cartoons we know that you’re fake. You’re not this crazy psycho guy, you’re just a normal guy that’s trying to be crazy. Just be yourself.”
Muhammad and Strickland could be on the verge of UFC title shots with wins in their next appearances. While it appears that the matchup may not happen at 170 pounds, that is not preventing Muhammad from weighing in on Strickland and his peculiar ways.
What are your thoughts on Belal Muhammad’s perception of Sean Strickland?
