Jamaican-Born Leon Edwards Accepts Title Fight Against Belal Muhammad
2 min read
Muhammad has emerged as the number 1 contender thanks to his nine-fight winning streak
Leon Edwards, the UFC welter weight champion, has accepted to defend his belt against Belal Muhammad. The Jamaican-born fighter is coming from a dominant title defense against Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington.
Edwards previously claimed that Muhammad doesn’t deserve a title shot. Edwards’ coach even suggested that his fighter would prefer a fight against Gilbert Burns. However, Edwards has changed his tune after Muhammad accused him of being ”scared of real competition.”
A fight between Edwards and Burns is unrealistic because Muhammad defeated Burns in his last fight. The UFC normally doesn’t award title fights to fighters who are coming off a loss.
Edwards has been dismissive of a potential fight against Muhammad because he wants more ”entertaining” contenders. He made this claim while speaking to journalists after UFC 296. Edwards later claimed that it was the UFC that has been sidelining Muhammad, not him.
In his Twitter response, Edwards claimed that he isn’t afraid of fighting Muhammad. He described him as the “least intimidating welterweight in the UFC.” The champion claimed that he had told the UFC that he was okay with a fight against Muhammad. He insisted that a fight against the American contender would be “easy work.” He went on to advice Muhammad to solve his issues with the organization.
Muhammad has emerged as the number 1 contender thanks to his nine-fight winning streak. He has an impressive resume that is full of some of the UFC’s biggest names. His most memorable wins are against top fighters like Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady. The win against Brady was especially impressive because he was an undefeated fighter before Muhammad fought him.
In March 2021, Belal Muhammad and Leon Edwards clashed in the cage but their fight was declared as a no-contest. The referee was forced to call-off the fight because Muhammad was unable to continue after Edwards accidentally poked him in the eye.
It’s now up to UFC CEO Dana White to rebook the fight officially.
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