Both Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad are uber confident in their abilities going into their title fight on Saturday night. Since their last fight, both Muhammad and Edwards have improved significantly in all areas of their game. While Edwards is considered the better striker, Muhammad is considered the better grappler of the two. The champion however, is not too impressed by Muhammad’s wrestling abilities.
In the recent pre-fight press conference, Edwards answered some of the most burning questions the media had for him. Chief among them was how he plans on dealing with the wrestling that is going to come his way. The champion basically laughed it off saying Belal was ‘not Khabib’. He said:
“Everyone knows his game plan would be to come out and try wrestling. But even his wrestling ain’t all that really, he ain’t a f**king Khabib or like GSP. He’s Belal.”
Leon Edwards on Belal Muhammad’s wrestling:
“He ain’t a f***ing Khabib or GSP. He’s Belal.”
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‘Remember the name’ is considered one of the best grapplers in his division. Even though he might not be on the same level as Nurmagomedov or ‘GSP’, Muhammad is still a lot to deal with for most fighters on the roster.
It is the relentless nature of his grappling that wears his opponents down. Even if he doesn’t get the takedown at first, it won’t stop him from trying again and again and again, till he gets his opponent on their back.
This is a characteristic that he shares in common with the likes of Islam Makhachev, and Khabib Nurmagomedov which makes him difficult to deal with.
However, it appears as thought the champion is unfazed by what is coming his way and is confident in his abilities to stuff the takedowns. But Belal believes Edwards will have other concerns for Saturday night
‘Edwards is worried about the wrong things’: Belal
The common consensus for most people is that the Palestinian-American will be banking heavily on his wrestling to get a win. However, ‘Remember the name’ feels that he has more tricks up his sleeve that neither fans nor Edwards will be expecting.
In recent interviews, he has stated that he feels his striking has improved significantly. The 36-year-old believes that he displayed that in his recent fights against Burns and Brady.
While fans and Edwards are probably expecting Belal to fight a certain way, he is preparing to put on a striking masterclass against Edwards to win UFC gold at the first time of asking. Now whether his striking holds up against Edwards is yet to be seen.
