LAS VEGAS – Leon Edwards is open to rematching Belal Muhammad next, but won’t be surprised if he’s leapfrogged after UFC 296.
Welterweight champion Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defends his title against Colby Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 296 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on ESPN+.
Weighing in as a backup will be Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC), who’s lone asterisk in his 10-fight unbeaten run came in a no contest against Edwards in March 2021. Muhammad has been chomping at the bit for his title shot, and Edwards says he could be next – but he doesn’t guarantee it.
“Maybe,” Edwards told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 296 media day. “There’s many guys that have been the backup for other cards and didn’t end up fighting for the world title.
“Let’s say on Saturday night one of the other guys do like a mad, standout performance, maybe the UFC will skip Belal and put them in. So who knows? But you’ve got to fight them all anyway, so whoever comes first, it doesn’t matter.”
Edwards is confident he’s a better fighter than Muhammad. In their first fight, Muhammad was on the receiving end of a nasty eye poke which rendered him unable to continue in the opening seconds of Round 2.
Edwards won Round 1 on all three judges’ scorecards, where he was able to rock Muhammad with a head kick. He thinks their just over five minutes of action is indicative of how the fight would have played out.
“If I have to fight Belal, I’ll fight Belal,” Edwards said. “I feel like I’ve proven I’m way better than him anyway just from that one round. If he’s next, I’ll happily engage it and it’s fine. I believe I’m going to fight them all anyway, so why not fight them all as a champion?”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.