Earlier this month the Ultimate Fighting Championship hosted UFC 315 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
The event was the first in the history of the UFC headlined by a Palestinian world champion.
Belal Muhammad lost his belt to Jack Della Maddalena, but despite the disappointing result, this fight was amazing.
Muhammad is known for his wrestling but Della Maddalena defended six of Muhammad’s nine takedowns.
Muhammad is known for being a boring fighter due to his strong wrestling style despite this, he has stayed stand up boxing majority of the fight, it almost felt like he was trying to prove how he can be an entertaining fighter but this cost him the fight.
If Muhammad were to fight his style the whole fight he more than likely would have won. He applied pressure past round three and in those last three rounds is where he landed all his takedowns.
Despite this, JDM looked amazing in this fight, especially for this being his first title fight of his young career.
This cannot be too surprising as this is Della Maddalena’s 18th win in a row but what is surprising is none of his former wins are against anyone anywhere near the level of Muhammad.
I went into this fight rooting for Muhammad and left a huge fan of JDM. Della Madalena showed nothing more than proving he is one of the best boxers in the UFC at just 28 years old.
This also makes JDM the youngest champion currently in the UFC.
Being a Palestinian-American myself I was super excited for this fight, but I am sad it did not go the way of Muhammad. However I do think that is important to highlight those doing great things that are Palestinian-American.
It is so often that the media use this ethnicity to get a reaction, positive or negative, out of their readers, but an ethnicity should not be a trigger word.
Muhammad walked out to “My Blood is Palestine” by Dami Faleestini which was removed from all major streaming platforms in 2023, as tensions between Israel and Palestine started heating up.
This was just a show of strength from Muhammad and it sheds light on the music that empowers all Palestinians.
Even something as simple as walking out with the Palestinian flag is so empowering because that flag evokes so much emotions to people who have not even visited the Middle East.
The flag puts a target on Muhammad’s back which he is willing to bear as one a representation of Palestine in this country.
Recent history shows us that athletes can have a huge influence in how their race is perceived. We look to Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice against African Americans.
This took a lot of bravery from Kaepernick and all he was doing was standing up for what he believed in. Then we pivot to the National Basketball Association during the “bubble season” in 2020.
The NBA players wore shirts saying “I can’t breathe” to align with the protests that were taking place in stance for George Floyd.
What is going on between Israel and Palestine is similar to what was going on in 2020 because the left and the right are both using it to push narratives, we also have to keep in mind that both of these social movements happened during an election year.
Despite losing the fight Muhammad showed bravery and strength, he very well could have come out not representing his family’s country of origin however it is important for Palestinians to show pride and strength during this time.
Anthony Eramya is a senior journalism major and a staff writer for the Campus Times. He can be reached at anthony.eramya@laverne.edu.
Anthony Eramya, a senior journalism major, is a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. He has previously served as a staff writer for both publications.
