Belal Muhammad has unfinished business with Leon Edwards.
Muhammad is coming off a unanimous decision win over Demian Maia at UFC 263 last month. Edwards also competed on that card as he survived a late scare to outpoint Nate Diaz over five rounds.
Edwards has since maintained that he will only fight for the welterweight title next and is willing to wait for Kamaru Usman. Muhammad, meanwhile, believes otherwise.
The pair fought in a short-notice headliner back in March that ended abruptly in the second round after an accidental eye poke rendered Muhammad unable to continue.
Things have been heated between the pair ever since with Muhammad not taking too kindly to Edwards immediately eyeing a title shot instead of running things back with him. And with the welterweight division virtually booked up except for them, Muhammad believes it only makes sense for them to run things back.
“I mean the only name that doesn’t have a fight is Leon and honestly for me, it makes the most sense out of any of those fights for both of us if you really think about it,” Muhammad told TMZ. “
Muhammad: Do You Want To Sit Out Another Two Years?
Muhammad has even asked his manager to get the wheels in motion for a rematch with Edwards and believes the choice is simple for the Birmingham native — fight him to earn his title shot or end up on the sidelines for an extended period of time again.
“I told my manager. I’m sure he can make something but it’s one of those where if you put it in the public, fans will be like, ‘oh, you’re just salty.’ Look at the facts — it makes sense,” Muhammad explained. “We literally had one round, nothing happened in that round. There’s four more rounds to that fight and you saw in the Nate Diaz fight, dude almost got knocked out in the fifth round. You had a chance right there to earn a title shot against Nate Diaz, steal his fans, but you blew it because you played it a little bit safe.
“… My message is, ‘bro, do you want to sit out another two years? Do you want to get paid? I know you got a family, let’s stay active, let’s keep this train going. Get you another fight this year, let’s get a five-rounder and earn your title shot. You haven’t beaten a ranked 170-pounder, like you beat [Vicente] Luque six, seven years ago but that’s literally the only guy that you’ve beaten at 170. Everyone else is 155 and they’re not in the division anymore. So bro, come and earn your title shot.'”
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