Belal Muhammad has taken aim at his next world title rival Jack Della Maddalena over a fundraiser he is using to get his coaches to their world title fight.
Dana White came in for major criticism when the Australian challenger announced over the weekend that he needed to raise funds to get his coaching team over to UFC 315. Fans were outraged that the promotion wouldn’t foot the bill to bring his entire squad from Australia to Montreal for the fight.
And after Della Maddalena joked that he was being sent by the UFC to rid the sport of another boring champion in Muhammad, the Chicago native shot back by mocking his financial efforts.
Belal Muhammad trolls Jack Della Maddalena over first round KO threat
Belal Muhammad is not exactly a popular figure as UFC welterweight champion. Despite working in a lot of impressive boxing to his style, he is best known for his grinding wrestling which is not a fan friendly way to fight.
As such, Jack Della Maddalena wants to offer a new and more exciting option to fans by ridding him of the title next month in Montreal. In an Instagram post, he wrote: “Stoked the UFC have put their trust in me to save the division. This will be done in 1 no doubt.”
This offended Muhammad, who quickly took to X to clap back at his rival by mocking his fundraising efforts. “Just when I was gonna donate to your fundraiser so your coaches can come,” Muhammad wrote. “Enjoy spirit airlines”
Jack Della Maddalena is using fundraiser to get his team to UFC 315 title fight
It is standard practice for the UFC and other major promotions to provide flights and accomodation for a fighter and one or two corners. The rest of the team are generally paid for by the athlete, and it is the same for Jack Della Maddalea in Montreal.
However, that is not common knowledge, and fans were outraged when a now-deleted Instagram post from The Riverton Bar and Grill explained that he was engaging in a fundraiser to get his team to Canada. He was offering a chance to grab a drink and a meal with him for fans who made a donation.
After the fundraiser made the rounds online, fight fans didn’t react kindly. “Its absolutely insane that someone fighting for a UFC championship has to do fund-raisers to get their team to the fight. UFC should be covering this,” one wrote on Instagram.
“Actually crazy how Dana be gambling millions but can’t pay for fighter flights,” another said. “[Dana White], are you not embarrassed?” One added. “Look how you treat the 170 division now that Usman Leon and Colby are on losing streaks.”
