Sean Strickland is on the lookout for a new opponent at UFC 268 and Belal Muhammad has answered the call.
Strickland’s original opponent Luke Rockhold, pulled out of their fight due to a back injury. After that announcement, Muhammad was quick to put out a response on Twitter, asking to be matched up with the ‘piece of trash’.
Strickland took to his Instagram to reply to Muhammad. (H/T mmafighting.com)
“Listen, Belal Muhammad, I heard you’re running your f*cking mouth,” Strickland said during the video. “Last time you were in Vegas, I tried to spar you ’cause I knew you were a little f*ckin’ b*tch and I wanted to hurt you, and it was a good excuse to do it.”
He continues on an expletive-filled rant before explaining why he took the Rockhold fight in the first place. According to Strickland, he wanted an opponent that will move him up in the rankings toward a title shot. He also stated that he does not think that Muhammad fills that requirement.
Muhammad responded again on his Twitter, this time with a video further explaining his hate for Strickland.
“After his last fight, ‘Oh, I’m a bad boy. I want to kill someone in the cage. I want to be the first person to murder somebody. I’m a moron,’ Muhammad said. “Now it’s, ‘Oh I only want to fight rank guys who are above me and are going to get me closer to the title shot. And if it’s possible, can I fight in my home town?’ I know you have a fake persona, you’re soft.”
However, with Muhammad fighting at 170 and Strickland fighting at 185, it does seem like this beef is more personal that practical.