Leon Edwards suffered his third straight defeat this past Saturday, and Belal Muhammad sees that as a sign of a new career chapter for the Englishman.
Edwards (22-6 MMA, 14-5 UFC) was badly knocked out by Carlos Prates this past Saturday on the main card of UFC 322 in New York. It was a mighty fall from grace, given that just three fights ago, Edwards was champion of the UFC’s welterweight division. “Rocky” lost the belt to Muhammad (24-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) by decision in July 2024, then lost by submission to Sean Brady this past March, and now failed to snap his losing streak against Prates.
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Muhammad thinks Edwards is no longer up to par to fight against the elite of the division, and would like to see him fight fellow veterans.
“I think now it comes down to fun fights,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie in the aftermath of Edwards’ loss. “(Jorge) Masvidal comes back, you get Masvidal. You’ve heard (Donald) Cerrone talk about coming back. Nate Diaz. He’s at that level now, not the young up-and-comers.”
As far as Edwards opponent, Muhammad was very impressed with what he saw from Prates. He believes the Brazilian not only used his fighting skills to win the fight, but also his trash talking to psych out Edwards out of the fight.
“Prates is really good, very smart. He’s a sniper,” Muhammad said. “I think Leon Edwards got out of his game plan. He was meant to be wrestling the whole time but I think Prates wrestling him a little bit, getting in his head a little bit, Leon started chirping back. That’s not your game. That’s Prates game. He’s very smart and cool and just chilling there. Sucks for Leon right now.”
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Muhammad returns to the cage this Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 265 in Doha, Qatar (ESPN+). He takes on Ian Machado Garry in a pivotal welterweight contest. Muhammad finds himself in a similar position Edwards was in a few months ago. Muhammad lost the UFC welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena in May, and is looking to get back on track against the new blood of the division.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Belal Muhammad reacts to Leon Edwards KO loss at UFC 322
