Belal Muhammad Laughs Off ‘Street Fighter’ Label in Chicago News Segment

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad laughed off being labeled a street fighter during a recent Chicago news segment.

As we know, mixed martial arts has gradually become one of the most exciting and entertaining sports on the planet in the last few decades. Despite that, there are still people out there who don’t really understand it that well.

We got a glimpse of that recently when Belal Muhammad took part in a local daytime TV interview in his hometown of Chicago. When discussing his UFC welterweight championship win, one of the hosts essentially compared mixed martial arts to street fighting. Belal, being the pro that he is, laughed it off before answering her question.

During a recent podcast appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, however, Muhammad couldn’t help but bring it up.

Belal Muhammad responds to awkward interview

“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.”

Quotes via BJPENN.com

There are plenty of reasons why MMA isn’t as universally beloved as other sports. Still, it’s nice to have solid ambassadors out there, and it feels like Belal Muhammad is a solid representative. He may not be the most popular welterweight in the world, but he speaks well and he fights with authority.

Joe Rogan, of course, has had to deal with plenty of folks like this since his involvement in the sport first began. Hopefully, we’ll continue to see further education on this matter in the mainstream media as UFC continues to go from strength to strength.