Sean Strickland calls out Belal Muhammad following Islam Makhachev's welterweight move

Sean Strickland recently voiced his wish to face Belal Muhammad at middleweight after Muhammad's close friend Islam Makhachev announced his move to welterweight. Strickland suggested that the two should resolve their differences inside the octagon.

Muhammad's title loss against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 earlier this month paved the way for Makhachev, who had long hoped to become a two-division champion. The Dagestani fighter vacated his lightweight throne and is now expected to face Della Maddalena.

Strickland and Muhammad are hostile to one another and have frequently exchanged barbs on social media. In a recent interview with MMA journalist Helen Yee, the former middleweight champion called out Muhammad to a 185-pound contest:

''Belal would be a fun fight. That would be a fun one. Belal, you should finally sack up. This is it. You could finally sack the f**k up. All that sh*t you talked, man. We can finally make it happen. You lost your belt. You kind of got f**ked up. I got f**ked up. We should make that fight happen, Belal. All that sh*t he talks on Instagram. He's like, 'I'm going to come fight you. I'm going to come to that.' Now you can you f**king p*ssy. Do it for Palestine.''

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Check out Sean Strickland's comments below (29:31):

Muhammad was outclassed by Della Maddalena, who won the title matchup by unanimous decision. Meanwhile, Strickland failed to reclaim his throne as he also suffered a unanimous decision loss in his rematch against reigning champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312.

Sean Strickland opens up about his future

Sean Strickland will look to get back to winning ways after an unsuccessful title bid against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312 earlier this year.

In the aforementioned interview with Helen Yee, Strickland discussed Reinier de Ridder's callout at UFC Des Moines. The American went on to add that the promotion wanted him to face emerging contender Caio Borralho, saying:

''I wanted to fight that 'RDR' kid, but [he got booked]. Then Mick [Maynard] wanted me to fight Caio, such a great guy, but I said no. Well, we kind of both said no. It's one of those weird things where it's like, I know him, I know his wife, I know his family... It's awkward. It's such a bad fight because I know his family." [26:16]

About the author

Swagat is a dynamic MMA writer with a total experience of a little less than a year, which includes time in retail and sports journalism. He holds an MBA degree.

Swagat fell in love with the sport after watching the iconic grudge match between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in early 2015. Nate Diaz holds a special place in his heart for the Stockton native’s entertaining fan-friendly style and ability to deliver exciting fights regardless of the opponent.

In terms of rule changes in MMA, Swagat advocates for making scores public after each round, adding transparency to judging decisions.

Swagat prioritizes accuracy and relevance while writing and conducts thorough research to ensure the content is fresh and reliable.

He enjoys playing football and painting during his free time.

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Edited by Swagat Kumar Jena