For Belal Muhammad, things are getting personal with Leon Edwards.
Muhammad has been the likely next title challenger to Edwards’ UFC welterweight title for almost a year, but the fight has yet to be decided as Edwards first faced former interim champion Colby Covington. But even as 2024 drags on, there’s still no sign of a title fight in Muhammad’s future, but Remember the Name believes it’s a sign Edwards doesn’t want to get involved with him. ing.
“The fact that you have all these people speaking for you just means you’re a coward hiding behind their backs,” Muhammad told Middleeasy.
“You’re a world champion. If you’re the best fighter in the world, fight the best in the division right behind you. I have the longest winning streak in the division. Beat all these guys. It’s me. I know I’m the best in the world, and he knows I’m the best in the world. That’s why he’s trying to avoid this fight. Because I’m his toughest opponent. He’s going to do everything he can to hold the belt for as long as possible.”
Tensions between Muhammad and Edwards have been building for years, dating back to their first fight in 2021, which ended in a no-contest after Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye, making him unable to continue. Muhammad then tried to redo the match, but Edwards dismissed the idea in favor of another matchup. And now, Muhammad’s feelings for the welterweight champion are very strong as Edwards continues to downplay him as a title challenger.
“I hate his guts,” Muhammad said. “The last fighter I fought that I didn’t like was Sean Brady, and that’s because he talked a lot of trash. …With the Leon fight, they try to avoid me. He downplays my accomplishments, I’m trying to act like I don’t deserve it, I never got it, and that only makes me angrier and more hateful towards this man. I can’t wait to get in there and get him.
“The last four or five matches have been against some really great players: Demian Maia, Wonderboy, [Vicente] Luque, everyone is nice. Obviously, it’s easy to get extra motivation to fight a guy you hate. For those people, it’s a little difficult. But for Leon Edwards, I’ve been training for this guy for two years. My main focus was on him. I kept thinking about something other than him. And if I pass him, he will return to irrelevance and no one will think about him. ”
Of course, it may not be Edwards who is preventing the fight from happening. UFC CEO Dana White announced that a welterweight title defense was an option to headline UFC 300, but all three proposals for Edwards fell through for various reasons. Famously, Muhammad was not one of his three challengers. Ultimately, however, none of the proposed battles materialized, with Muhammad saying it was simply propaganda smoke and mirrors.
“People can say whatever they want,” Muhammad said. “They can say, ‘Oh, Dana said he offered the fight to three other guys!’” They didn’t fight anyone, right? I rather think Dana White is trying to hype a champion who can’t hype himself. Dana White is a promoter, so he said, “The beast that is Leon Edwards said yes to three dominant men and they all said no because he’s so good they’re afraid of him!” It has to make you think. But Leon is no good. He’s not good at fighting, he’s not good at talking, and he’s not good at promotions. And when I fight him, I’m going to show everyone how bad he is. ”
Muhammad may finally get that chance. UFC 304 is rumored to take place in Manchester, England this July, with Edwards reportedly defending his title in the main event. Muhammad, the No. 2 contender in the UFC welterweight rankings, appears to have secured an inside course if that happens, and if that happens, he’s ready to head across the pond to finally settle down with Edwards. is completed.
“One hundred percent,” Muhammad said of fighting in England.
“It would be great for me to go out there and get his home soil and beat him in front of that crowd. I went to London once for a UFC event and the crowd… The energy was insane. I was like, bro, we have to fight here. The fans were crazy. They’ve been there since the first fight, and when you’re there, You feel it in the air. So if I can go there, people will doubt me even more and that doubt will only fuel me, so that’s my story of winning this belt. It will be a fairy tale ending.”
