Muhammad condemns Arlovski for claiming Johnson's death made him the real winner

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad took to X to condemn Andrei Arlovski after the Belarusian heavyweight claimed in a recent interview that he effectively won his 2013 World Series of Fighting loss to Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson — because Johnson, who died in 2022 at the age of 38, is no longer alive.

Arlovski lost to Johnson by unanimous decision under the WSOF banner more than a decade ago. In the interview that sparked the controversy, he first insisted he believed he had won the fight on the night, then added that he won regardless, given that he is still alive and Johnson has passed away. The remarks drew widespread backlash across the MMA community, and Arlovski has since issued an apology.

Muhammad, however, framed the episode as symptomatic of a broader cultural decay rather than an isolated lapse in judgment. Writing on X, the former UFC champion argued that social media has eroded the social pressures that once kept cruel or thoughtless opinions private.

“It’s not just MMA,” Muhammad wrote. “It’s the world that’s rotting. There was a time when people hid behind fake accounts to say the stupid things they were too ashamed to say publicly. Now the masks are off. The side of people they used to keep hidden behind closed doors is out now. We live in a world where people are so desperate for a viral moment that they don’t care whether the attention is good or bad. Respect, decency, and basic humanity are being sacrificed for clicks and views… the saddest thing is people are starting to think this is normal.”

Johnson, one of the most feared knockout artists in UFC history, passed away in 2022. He was 38 years old. His death prompted an outpouring of tributes from across combat sports, making Arlovski’s subsequent remarks all the more jarring to those who knew or admired him.

Muhammad’s intervention adds significant weight to the criticism directed at Arlovski. As the reigning UFC welterweight champion and one of the promotion’s most prominent active fighters, his willingness to speak out publicly signals that the backlash within the sport is unlikely to fade quickly, even following Arlovski’s apology.