UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has launched a scathing attack on Sean Strickland following his loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312, calling the former middleweight champion a “racist little clown” and predicting he will make excuses for the defeat.
Strickland, who previously held the middleweight title after upsetting Israel Adesanya in 2023, was outclassed by Du Plessis in Sydney.
Muhammad, 35, took to social media to criticise Strickland’s fighting style and questioned whether he ever deserved a title shot.
“I’ve been saying forever he’s trash,” Muhammad said. “He talks a big game, but he never walks. Even when he’s down four rounds, he doesn’t go all out. He doesn’t have it in him unless it’s five seconds left in the fight.”
Muhammad, who won the welterweight belt against Leon Edwards in July, has yet to defend his title but is expected to face Shavkat Rakhmonov later this year.
He dismissed Strickland’s chances of another title shot and claimed the American would blame a pre-fight staph infection for his loss.
“He wants people to say he’s crazy, he’s nuts. He’s just a racist little clown hiding in the body of a fighter,” Muhammad said. “He’s a coward … Finally, we get to stop giving this guy undeserved title shots.”