Islam Makhachev recently took to Instagram, where he shared his thoughts on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Specifically, the reigning UFC lightweight champion expressed outrage over Israel’s ongoing bombing campaign in Gaza, which has led to a humanitarian crisis in the region.
As a devout Muslim, Islam Makhachev has always shown solidarity with the Palestinian population caught in the middle of the Israel-Hamas war. Now, he has shared his thoughts on a pair of posts shared via his Instagram stories, with the first one in particular revealing his rising indignation.
Just a day ago, Islam Makhachev punctuated his Instagram stories with the following message, translated by Instagram into English:
“I swear to the Almighty, there will be judgement and you will answer for everything with hate.”
Makhachev isn’t the only UFC fighter to speak out against the widespread violence caused by the war. Undefeated UFC middleweight and fellow Muslim mixed martial artist Khamzat Chimaev has also expressed support for Gaza several times, even demanding to be sent to the front lines to fight.
Another UFC fighter, who even happens to be a champion like Islam Makhachev and has expressed strong support for Gaza and Palestinians in particular is Palestinian-American Belal Muhammad, who currently rules over the welterweight division as its newly-minted champion.
In fact, Muhammad, who has had past issues with Chimaev, found common ground with the unbeaten Chechen in their mutual sympathy for Gaza. All three men are religious Muslims and thus deeply feel connected to Gaza, which is comprised of a majority Muslim population.