Leon Edwards, the former UFC welterweight champ, who lost his crown to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester last October, is returning to the UK with one goal in mind: redeem himself in front of a passionate local crowd.
After a performance that many felt was uncharacteristically sluggish at the Co-Op Live, Edwards explained that the odd 5 am bout on home soil played a big role in his underwhelming showing.
The timing not only threw off his rhythm but also affected his overall performance. Now, with a headline spot at The O2 Arena in London, he’s determined to win against Sean Brady, especially since he believes it will guarantee him a ticket to a rematch with Belal.
With Shavkat Rakhmonov pulling out of the 170 lb title fight at UFC 315, Edwards had hoped to step in but the UFC ultimately went with Jack Della Maddalena.
While some fighters might have bristled at the lost opportunity for a title rematch, Edwards took a pragmatic approach. He understands the promotion’s logic behind the move, even if it means postponing his dream rematch. “I kind of feel like I’m a veteran in the UFC now,” he reflected, in an interview with the UFC.
“Obviously, I would have loved the opportunity of a rematch with Belal, especially for the circumstances that I fought him in Manchester. But I also understand that the UFC kind of built London around me. If you take me off the card and leave Jack on it to fight Sean, it just wouldn’t sell as well.”, he explained.
“So I understand it in that sense, but I also feel I deserve the rematch with Belal. But that’ll come after this fight.”, Edwards ended the conversation with a hopeful note.
‘Rocky‘ is in fact so confident about the Belal fight next that he’s already talking trash to the welterweight champion.
Belal talks like Mike Tyson, claims Leon
Since becoming the champion, Belal has been throwing shade at just about everyone. But mostly at Edwards. Well, he did literally drop Leon on his head last year to win the title, so he does have bragging rights. But it doesn’t mean Leon needs to take it sitting down.
Leon has been talking about how he had an off day against ‘Bully B’ at UFC 3o4, primarily due to the early morning start to the PPV, to cater to American timings. This is why he doesn’t see Belal as a legitimate champion. Belal doesn’t care though, he has already predicted Brady beating the brakes of Leon at UFC London.
He claims that since Leon’s weakness against grappling was exposed last year at UFC 304, Brady will be able to take advantage of the weaknesses in Leon’s guard and submit him.
Meanwhile, upon hearing this, all Leon could do was sigh.
“The way Belal talks is like he went out there and knocked me down…he did no damage really. If anything, he was the one on the floor leaking, about to get stopped.”, he said.
“One more minute of that fight he would’ve got stopped. … He talks like he’s Mike Tyson, but when he fights, he’s not.”, the former champion added with disdain for the Palestinian-American fighter.
Leon Edwards fires back at Belal Muhammad saying he’s “weak mentally” before #UFCLondon.
“One more minute of that fight he would’ve got stopped. … He talks like he’s Mike Tyson, but when he fights, he’s not.” pic.twitter.com/0FXkYjm83A
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) March 20, 2025
What Edwards said is true, he did not sustain too much damage in his fight against Belal Muhammad. But the fact of the matter is, he did get dominated by ‘Bully B’, and lost the fight, and nothing can change that.
Regardless of whether it was entertaining or boring, at the end of the day, Belal did whatever he had to do, to secure the win, and that’s all that matters.
