Israeli UFC fighter Natan Levy steps on the scale for an official weigh-in before a fight, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on April 29, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Louis Grasse

Two professional fighters from Israel invited Swedish mixed martial artist Hamzat Chimaev to challenge them in the ring after Chimaev shared a pro-Palestinian message on social media and said he wanted to go head-to-head with Israel’s “strongest man.”

Chimaev, who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, shared a video on social media of a Jewish man confronting a Muslim in Israel. He wrote in the caption: “You are just guests of Palestine, respect them for giving you asylum. One day you will be expelled from Palestine, Inshallah. Give me the strongest man from Israel, I will break him.”

The post has been since deleted, but not before Natan Levy — a Jewish Israeli fighter in the UFC — took a screenshot of Chimaev’s remarks, shared it on X/Twitter,  and responded with his own message on Thursday. Levy, 31, asked if the 29-year-old Swedish fighter would like to spar with him.

“Khamzat, If you have a problem with me or my people, I’m very easy to find. One phone call to [UFC President] Dana White is all it takes,” wrote Levy, whose nickname is “Lethal” according to ESPN.

Levy then tried to “educate” Chimaev about geography in the region, saying in part, “WE ARE NOT GUESTS, WE ARE HOME … We are willing to share the land and we have, but we will never leave it! Your hateful statements do nothing but intensify the conflict and tear us further apart.”

Khamzat,
If you have a problem with me or my people, I’m very easy to find. One phone call to Dana White is all it takes.

Now let me educate you:
WE ARE NOT GUESTS,
WE ARE HOME

Jews and Palestinians have ties to the land,
Israel’s population is 20% muslims;
most identify as… pic.twitter.com/Xu1orpRqy7

— Natan Levy ✡︎ (@Natan_Levy) September 15, 2023

Chimaev’s post also caught the attention of Haim Gozali, a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter from Israel who is nicknamed “The Israeli Batman.” On Thursday, he addressed Chimaev in a post on X/Twitter.

“I’m not the strongest man in Israel but I dare you to come and ‘try’ break me any day!” Gozali wrote. “I know you have a contract with the UFC and I couldn’t care less so I challenge you to a bare-knuckle fight or Grappling…your choice!!!! Waiting for you if you even dare.”

Last month, Levy challenged and defeated in a cage fight a social media user who is a supporter of Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist and Holocaust denier.