Bridgeview crowd celebrates its own UFC champion

Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek congratulates Belal Muhammad on his victory in a ceremony on Sunday.

Bridgeview celebrated UFC Champion Belal Muhammad’s victory with a vibrant parade, complete with Middle Eastern dancing, a motorcade, and cheering crowds on Sunday afternoon.

A crowd of about 600, united in their support for the local hero and the first Palestinian welterweight world champion, gathered at 2 p.m. near Menards to honor Muhammad’s accomplishment with a parade that, for a short time, shut down Harlem Avenue from 87^th to 93rd streets in the area known affectionately as Little Palestine.

Muhammad, 36, won the UFC 304 title in a unanimous decision on July 27 over Leon Edwards.

Locals, fans, and community members, including Mayor Steven Landek, gathered to celebrate the “people’s champion.”

Landek’s words echoed the community’s sentiment, “We welcome and honor our champion this year. We are so proud of his 24 wins, but more importantly, we admire his resilience and determination, which led to his success.”

Muhammad is also well known for his collaboration and efforts with nonprofit organizations including the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and Pious Projects, as well as for condemning the ongoing violence and civilian deaths in Gaza.

Vivian Khalaf, chairman of the board and director of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, expressed and acknowledged how proud she was of Muhammad.

“We watched you raise your hands to Allah (God). We all saw that you raised your hands in thanks and gratitude, and held the Palestine flag high before the millions watching you, for those worldwide to see and watch,” she said.

“We applaud Muhammad’s success and denounce the tragedies of violence and destruction … because we love and respect life. Free Palestine,” she said.

Among the many speakers was the first Palestinian elected as a judge in Illinois, Rouhi Shalabi, who said, “We are here to celebrate for one reason: to celebrate Belal, remember the name Muhammad. What a testament to see how beloved Belal is loved, nationally and internationally.”

“I’ve known Bilal for nearly his entire life, and what he’s done is one of the hardest things a person can do, something only a handful can do,” he said. “As the mayor mentioned, this is years of hard work, hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. However, Belal is one of the most talented and hardest-working people ever, and that’s how champions are made.”

Muhammad, known as BullyB, expressed his overwhelming gratitude.

“I don’t know what to say. This is amazing, Chicago. I love you guys,” he said.

While thanking his crew and family members, including siblings, he shared sweet testaments of how much of his upbringing and love for the sport were due to wrestling with his brothers.

He said the journey to champion required patience and perseverance.

“I waited two years for this night, we were hungry for it,” Muhammad said. “That whole time, we got better, stayed patient, prayed to Allah, and now we won the title on the biggest stage at the biggest moment of my life, and we dominated them.”

One young fan climbs on a shoulder to get a better look at the UFC champion as Palestinian flags abound.