Belal Muhammad expects Leon Edwards’ will to be tested at UFC 322.
Former welterweight champion Edwards (22-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) will look to snap a two-fight losing skid when he takes on Carlos Prates (22-7 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York/
Edwards lost his welterweight title to Muhammad at UFC 304, then was dominated in a submission loss to Sean Brady at UFC Fight Night 255. Muhammad (24-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) says it’s now or never for Edwards.
“Leon, coming off of two losses in a row, is in a very tough spot,” Muhammad said on his YouTube channel. “You never want to be in a spot where you’re on two losses in a row because we’re going to see how bad he wants it. You don’t get any easier fights when you’re the champ.
“Every fight after that is still a tough fight. Every fight after that is still one shot, one win away from getting to a title fight. You’re not getting an easy one with Prates. Prates is very long, he’s a southpaw, he has great power, and he’s very confident coming off of that spinning elbow.”
Muhammad broke down the keys to victory for each fighter.
“So for Leon, you just need to get back on your rhythm,” Muhammad said. “Your last fight, you got taken down by Sean Brady. Before that, you got taken down by me. Now you’re going against a striker, so this is more of your world. But I do think you need to implement striking. You need to go with kind of the game plan Ian Garry used of lateral movements, staying out of his power, staying out of his reach, using your kicks. He’s going to be longer than you, and when he overextends, you take him down. We’ve seen you shoot, we’ve seen you wrestle, and we’ve seen you wrestle stupidly with Sean Brady. But with this one, you shoot a bad shot on Prates, he’s not going to make you pay for it.
“For Leon, use your kicks, you set the pace, you set the rhythm, try to set up the clinch, try to set up the takedown, try to get it to the floor. For Prates, you’re going to be a lot longer, take the center. Leon is not good going backwards. You need to keep your jab in his face, keep your feints in his face, use those power shots. Use that confidence you have, use that fearlessness, because when you’re hesitant, when you were thinking too much against Ian, you didn’t throw. With this one, you need to start early, start fast, get Leon moving backwards fast, Leon moving backwards early. He’s on a two-fight losing streak, so he’s either going to be desperate or he’s going to be gun-shy.”
Despite the more favorable matchup in Prates, Muhammad still doesn’t see Edwards rebounding.
“I’m picking Prates,” Muhammad said. “I think he’ll be able to use his length, he’ll be able to use Leon going backwards, and hurt him going backwards, and make him uncomfortable going backwards. So if I’m Prates, keep him on the fence, keep him going backwards, and I think you can win this fight.”
