Muhammad Rooting For ‘Rocky’ At UFC 296

If not in the cage, there’s always the means streets of Chicago.

Reigning UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards will make his next 170-pound title defense against two-time title challenger Colby Covington atop the UFC 296 pay-per-view (PPV) event, recently announced for Sat., Dec. 16, 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

No. 2-ranked title contender, Belal Muhammad, will be rooting for “Rocky.”

“I want Leon, for my legacy, to be considered one of the best ever,” Muhammad told UFC on TNT Sports. “To beat him who just beat Usman twice — who people thought was the best welterweight ever — so, I go out there and beat him, he has the longest winning streak and I have the second longest winning streak, so that’s the one I want. Colby would be a funner buildup, because he’s gonna trash talk and I always wanted to slap him for the last 10 years, but Leon would mean more to my career.”

It could even make him the best welterweight of all time.

Muhammad (23-3, 1 NC) remains undefeated across his last 10 fights and has more wins over ranked contenders than Covington. Unfortunately for “Remember the Name,” the promotion is giving him the same cold shoulder it gave Edwards back when “Rocky” was on his way up.

Blame “Dana White privilege.”