"Confront us" - UFC fighter Amir Albazi sends cold warning to Israel's Haim Gozali for insensitive missile post about Muslim fighters 

UFC flyweight contender Amir Albazi recently fired a warning shot at Haim Gozali for the Israeli fighter's insensitive social media post. The 50-year-old came under fire for uploading an image showing Israeli missiles with names of prominent Muslim MMA fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Khamzat Chimaev, Belal Muhammad, and Islam Makhachev written on them.

Gozali's post proved to be extremely controversial among MMA fans, many of whom were cognizant of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict and the resulting humanitarian crisis. While the two sides have been at war for over 75 years, Hamas, the governing body of Palestine's Gaza Strip, launched a vicious attack on Israel earlier this month, leading to an escalation of violence.

Over the past three weeks, the ongoing hostilities have claimed thousands of lives and injured many more. Given that all signs point toward the conflict intensifying further, Gozali's post was widely criticized for insensitively throwing fuel on the fire. Amir Albazi was among those who fired back at the Israeli MMA star.

In a recent tweet, the Iraqi fighter challenged Haim Gozali to confront Muslim fighters in person instead of hiding "behind a keyboard" and wrote:

"They are always hiding. @Haimgozali, if you are really that tough, tell it to any Muslim fighter in front of their faces. I got so many ”threats” from cowards of Israel acting so tough behind a keyboard. All I am saying is to confront us. I am in las vegas, btw."

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Did Haim Gozali ever compete in the UFC? A look at the Israeli fighter's professional record

While Haim Gozali is widely considered among Israel's most famous MMA fighters, he never set foot in the UFC octagon. The 50-year-old jiu-jitsu maestro earned his flowers in Bellator MMA's welterweight division. He's a fifth-degree jiu-jitsu black belt and has trained under the legendary Renzo Gracie.

While Gozali competed as a welterweight at Bellator, he's also fought as a middleweight and light heavyweight contender. He has a professional MMA record of 15-6, with 14 of those wins coming via submission. Gozali made his Bare-knuckle debut in February 2021 and made history as the first Israeli fighter to compete in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) arena.

Haim Gozali won both his BKFC outings via second-round TKO. The 'Israeli Batman' also served in the Israel Border Police during his tenure in the military. Interestingly, Gozali was once stabbed while working as a nightclub bouncer, surviving six brutal stab wounds.

Haim Gozali also founded the Israeli World Combat Championship (IWCC), a combat sports-oriented promotion based in his homeland.