Talk of who Leon Edwards will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight title against next has dominated headlines after “Rocky” defeated Colby Covington at UFC 296 this past weekend (Sat., Dec. 16, 2023) in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch highlights here).
Shavkat Rakhmonov made his ironclad case after submitting Stephen Thompson on the same card (see it here), while Edwards’ coach recently threw a dark horse into the mix in the form of Gilbert Burns. And let’s not forget about Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, who is calling for a “Champion vs. Champion” showdown in 2024.
But, the logical step is to give the bout to Belal Muhammad, who has firmly cemented himself as the No. 1 contender based on his ranking and 10-fight unbeaten streak. “Remember the Name” was tapped as UFC 296’s emergency main event back up option, too.
growing frustrated by Edwards’ apparent disinterest in a rematch. That frustration increases knowing that Edwards has no sympathy after he went through the same waiting game (and rejection) en route to getting his first crack at former champion, Kamaru Usman.
“Honestly, that’s what pisses me off the most about him,” Muhammad told MMA Fighting. “That’s what’s making me dislike him the most. Not even the fact that we fought, and he’s the one who committed the foul. He’s the one who eye-poked me. I’m the one who took the fight on three weeks’ notice, so he could have a fight. You’re the one who committed that act. I don’t really care about that anymore. Now, we’re looking at just stats.
“I’m on a 10-fight unbeaten streak,” Muhammad continued. “You were on a nine-fight unbeaten streak when you were waiting for your title shot and everybody brushing you off. You know how it feels to get brushed off like that.”
he wrote on X. “I already told UFC I don’t mind I’ll fight you next that’s easy work. You just have to figure out why they hate you so much.”
With UFC 300 set for April 13, 2024 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, it’s not out of the question to expect this fight to take place on the card, which Dana White promised to be the biggest in the history of the sport.
Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 is a great start.
here.
