Leon Edwards is almost certain to face Belal Muhammad next, according to his longtime coach Dave Lovell.
“Rocky” hasn’t fought since beating Colby Covington to defend his welterweight title at UFC 296 in December, but he was heavily linked to at UFC 300.
4
Edwards received praise from Dana White for agreeing to face three different opponents before the UFC decided he would not compete in last weekend’s historic show in Las Vegas.
He is now set to begin preparing for a fight at UFC 304, which will take place at Manchester’s new Co-op Live Arena at the end of July.
“The UFC is here in July, so there’s no doubt Leon will be on the bill,” Lovell told talkSPORT MMA’s Kweku Afari at OKTAON 56 in Birmingham on Saturday night.
“Unfortunately he was unable to compete at UFC 300 for whatever reason.
LEARN MORE ABOUT LEON EDWARDS
“The guys who were put on him, Shavkat [Rakhmonov] Khamzat [Chimaev] and Islam [Makhachev], they were all fasting. We were ready to leave but it is what it is.
Lovell has all but guaranteed that Edwards’ next opponent will be Belal Muhammad, who is currently riding a nine-fight winning streak and is ranked No. 2 at welterweight.
He added: “I think it will be Belal [Muhammad] following.
“It’s not set in stone, but 99.9 percent [of me] think it will be Belal.
4
4
4
“Leon is looking forward to the July bill, he starts camp next week, for a 12-week camp and we are fine-tuning our tools to deal with Mr. Belal.”
Edwards and Muhammad fought in March 2021, but their bout ended in a no contest after the Palestinian-American MMA fighter inadvertently punched each other’s eyes in the second round.
Edwards’ coach expects Muhammad to try to force his way to victory, but he is sure the English fans’ favorite will finally get a win over his rival, who he accused of faking an injury during their first meeting.
Lovell said: “He got his ass cut for a round and a half in the last fight.
“I don’t see him wanting to stand by Léon. He’ll look to crush Leon against the cage, knock him down, maul him when he’s down and probably steal a decision that way.
“If that glance never happened, I think Leon would have finished him in the second round.
“For me, analyzing the fight and looking back on it, Belal was looking for a way out and stealing a decision.
“That eye stung, and the noise he made, literally screaming and crying, it’s funny that he didn’t need to go to the hospital, that he didn’t have any eye damage, so what does that tell you?
“If the doctors clear him after the fight, what does that tell you? He tried to steal a decision, but the return on investment is ab****, we’ll see.
Leon Edwards is almost certain to face Belal Muhammad next, according to his longtime coach Dave Lovell.
“Rocky” hasn’t fought since beating Colby Covington to defend his welterweight title at UFC 296 in December, but he was heavily linked to at UFC 300.
4
Edwards received praise from Dana White for agreeing to face three different opponents before the UFC decided he would not compete in last weekend’s historic show in Las Vegas.
He is now set to begin preparing for a fight at UFC 304, which will take place at Manchester’s new Co-op Live Arena at the end of July.
“The UFC is here in July, so there’s no doubt Leon will be on the bill,” Lovell told talkSPORT MMA’s Kweku Afari at OKTAON 56 in Birmingham on Saturday night.
“Unfortunately he was unable to compete at UFC 300 for whatever reason.
LEARN MORE ABOUT LEON EDWARDS
“The guys who were put on him, Shavkat [Rakhmonov] Khamzat [Chimaev] and Islam [Makhachev], they were all fasting. We were ready to leave but it is what it is.
Lovell has all but guaranteed that Edwards’ next opponent will be Belal Muhammad, who is currently riding a nine-fight winning streak and is ranked No. 2 at welterweight.
He added: “I think it will be Belal [Muhammad] following.
“It’s not set in stone, but 99.9 percent [of me] think it will be Belal.
4
4
4
“Leon is looking forward to the July bill, he starts camp next week, for a 12-week camp and we are fine-tuning our tools to deal with Mr. Belal.”
Edwards and Muhammad fought in March 2021, but their bout ended in a no contest after the Palestinian-American MMA fighter inadvertently punched each other’s eyes in the second round.
Edwards’ coach expects Muhammad to try to force his way to victory, but he is sure the English fans’ favorite will finally get a win over his rival, who he accused of faking an injury during their first meeting.
Lovell said: “He got his ass cut for a round and a half in the last fight.
“I don’t see him wanting to stand by Léon. He’ll look to crush Leon against the cage, knock him down, maul him when he’s down and probably steal a decision that way.
“If that glance never happened, I think Leon would have finished him in the second round.
“For me, analyzing the fight and looking back on it, Belal was looking for a way out and stealing a decision.
“That eye stung, and the noise he made, literally screaming and crying, it’s funny that he didn’t need to go to the hospital, that he didn’t have any eye damage, so what does that tell you?
“If the doctors clear him after the fight, what does that tell you? He tried to steal a decision, but the return on investment is ab****, we’ll see.
