Islam Makhachev is not impressed by Leon Edwards following UFC 296.
Makhachev, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, attended the event inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He witnessed the headlining UFC Welterweight Championship fight between titleholder Edwards and Colby Covington. Edwards won the fight via unanimous decision for his second successful title defense.
Footage has surfaced of Islam Makhachev reacting to the Edwards vs. Covington fight backstage, and he didn’t have any praise to share.
Colby should learn trash talking from islam, no crossing lines just speaking about the skills pic.twitter.com/mL56R1c9a2
— Abady Makhachev (@AbadyMMA) December 17, 2023
“Leon has to be next, and also, this fight is bullsh*t man,” Makhachev said. “We have to change the champion.”
Islam Makhachev Wants UFC Welterweight Gold
In a post on X, Makhachev doubled down on his comments, sending a clear message to both Leon Edwards and Colby Covington:
I will finish both this guy
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) December 17, 2023
“I will finish both this guy,” Makhachev said.
Makhachev isn’t expected to be back in action until at least March, per his manager Ali Abdelaziz. It has become clear that Makhachev’s team isn’t interested in a rematch with Charles Oliveira, although the 155-pound titleholder said he’d do whatever the UFC asks.
As far as what’s next for Edwards, many have been pounding the table for Belal Muhammad to receive a shot the 170-pound gold. Belal has gone 9-0, 1 NC in his last 10 outings. The last time Muhammad failed to walk out of the Octagon with a win, it was due to an inadvertent eye poke from none other than Edwards in their March 2021 bout.
While that fight wasn’t rebooked immediately, there may not be a better time than now to make it come to fruition. With that said, “Rocky” told reporters during the UFC 296 post-fight press conference that there are more intriguing options for him. He also said he doesn’t believe Belal should be next in line for a welterweight title shot despite his resume.
Time will tell what’s next for Leon Edwards.
