For a guy who fights other men for a living, UFC veteran Belal Muhammad nevertheless has a soft side.

The 29-year-old Palestinian-American – a former Titan FC champion who’s won three straight fights in the UFC – has used past post-fight interviews for a greater good. After his recent win over Tim Means, for example, Muhammad blasted polarizing UFC vet Colby Covington, who ruffled some feathers after calling Brazilians “filthy animals,” and criticized the “ignorant fifth-grade trash-talk.”

If you’re respectful, Muhammad’s respectful. But if can’t muster a little bit of decency, he’s not hesitant to call you out.

Take, for instance, the aftermath of UFC 221, where Yoel Romero knocked out Luke Rockhold to claim an interim middleweight. When UFC heavyweight Chase Sherman posted the following tweet, Muhammad was peeved:

“Like, when fighters do it, that’s what pisses me off the most, because fighters know what they put into it,” Muhammad told MMAjunkie Radio. “You know what we all put into it, how much work we put into it.

“When Chase Sherman made fun of Rockhold – like, we’re both in the same business. (Sherman has) been knocked out before too. You know how it feels, so you know where Rockhold is in his career right now. So how are you going to sit there and go on Twitter … and egg on the fans and have them make fun of him too?”

Muhammad has dealt with his own trolls. As a Muslim fighter, he’s sometimes an easy target for fans. But he said that the good ones far outweigh the bad ones.

“You’ll have a couple fans on social media who call you something stupid – ‘terrorist’ or something stupid like that,” he said. “It’s just those guys with like one follower. They literally make an account just to talk trash for no reason.

“But I have a lot more good fans than bad fans, so I’ll take that.”

With dozens of Muslims now on the UFC roster, Muhammad has seen a shift to the positive. It’s been especially prevalent from fans who come from predominantly Muslim areas of Russia, who tell Muhammad they’re fans of his.

He hopes he can give those fans a reason to cheer him on soon. Muhammad was recently in Las Vegas wrapping up rehab from a torn meniscus he suffered in November during his split-decision victory over Tim Means at UFC Fight Night 121.

“I was actually still training for like a month (after the fight and injury),” he said. “We smashed knees, so I was thinking just a normal knee smash and it’d be OK and it was just a bruise or something like that. But I was still training for like a month after that – after the fight – and it was still hurting and still painful.”

He then got checked out and learned about the injury.

“I just cut it out, scoped it out,” he said. “Right now, I’m back to like 100 percent now. That’s why I came here (to Las Vegas) – to do a final week or rehab at the (UFC Performance Institute). It was cool – just to get everything done.”

Now, the Chicago-based fighter is hoping for a fight at UFC 225, which takes place June 9 at United Center in the Windy City. He’d like a fight against the winner of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 126 fight between Mike Perry (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Max Griffin (13-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) – especially if Perry wins. Niko Price (11-1 MM, 2-1 UFC) intrigues him, as does recent UFC Fight Night 126 main-event winner Donald Cerrone (33-10 MMA, 20-7 UFC).

But he’s not picky, and after a career that’s never included a fight in his home state, the date is more important than the opponent.

“This will be my first time fighting in Chicago – hopefully if I get on (the UFC 225 card),” he said.

For more on UFC 225, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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