Coming off of his satisfying win over Colby Covington, Leon Edwards had plans to include three title fights in 2024.
The UFC welterweight champion was full of confidence. He spoke to a crowd of 41,000 at Villa Park.Just weeks after his decision win to close out UFC 2023 in his hometown of Birmingham, England, he announced he would defend the belt at UFC 300 in April.
With that landmark event now over, Edwards is sidelined until this Saturday when he headlines UFC 304 in his native Manchester for the second consecutive July.
“I was hoping for at least three title fights this year,” Edwards told The Post in a recent video call. “April would have been perfect. [were] We negotiated hard with UFC to make UFC 300 happen, and it’s unfortunate that it didn’t happen.
“Then, naturally, they said they were coming back to the UK in July in Manchester and I thought, ‘OK, perfect.’ I was looking forward to headlining my second local show in my country.”
But Edwards (22-3, 10 finishes) wasn’t just overlooked at UFC 300, a fight that went without a headliner announcement for much longer than fans expected — after all, it was a bout between Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill for the light heavyweight title.
Edwards, his Manager Tim Simpsonand UFC CEO Dana White All agreed that three opponents were offered to the 170-pound champion: welterweight star Shavkat Rahmonov, former 170-pounder who moved to 185, Khamzat Chimaev, and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Simpson announced in the spring that he would accept bouts against each of them, but none of them came to fruition.
Conspicuously absent was Belal Muhammad, Edwards’ most anticipated next opponent, who was scheduled to face Edwards in the pay-per-view main event at Co-op Live on Saturday.
“I put his name forward to the UFC. I actually said to the UFC, ‘What about Belal?’ They said he wasn’t famous enough to headline UFC 300,” Edwards said with a laugh, recalling the UFC’s response. “And I was like, ‘Whatever.’ And that’s why we’re in Manchester now.”
Edwards had to agree.
“I don’t think he’s a big enough star to headline 300,” he said, “but I wanted to fight and I thought, what about this guy? [Muhammad] “He talks a lot of rubbish and everyone thinks he deserves a title fight, why don’t you get him?’ But like I said, the UFC didn’t do that.”
So Edwards’ return will be pushed back to July, and if he beats Muhammad (23-3, six finishes) in a rematch of their March 2021 showdown that ended in a no-contest, he will almost certainly be limited to a maximum of two championship fights this year.
Headlining that night’s UFC Apex event, Edwards started strong, winning the first round with a 17-8 striking advantage.
However, an accidental poke in the eye by Edwards prevented Muhammad from continuing, and Edwards never became champion again the following August when he defeated Kamaru Usman with a head kick in the fifth round.
“We all know how the first round went,” Edwards said when asked how the first round helped him prepare for the second round. “… I remember how slow he was and what it felt like in the clinch. There’s no denying that.”
“Other than that, technically, I’m looking at this as a brand new fight, analyzing it and looking at where Belal is now, at 36 years old and having not fought in over a year.”
Edwards acknowledged that Muhammad, who has won five straight bouts in that time but has taken his time since his five-round decision win over former title challenger Gilbert Burns, has improved since his first bout.
“He’s definitely improved since then,” Edwards acknowledged, “but I think I’m a better mixed martial artist than him. I’m more athletic than him.”
In a bizarre scheduling twist, UFC 304 is scheduled to start at its usual 10pm ET time despite being held in the UK, meaning the earliest Edwards and Muhammad will fight is 5am local time.
It was a decision that interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who defends his title against Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event, was vocally opposed to, and Edwards admitted his first reaction when he heard the timing was “what the heck?”
But Edwards is a veteran of this scenario, having competed in Manchester eight years ago when UFC 204 began at an inauspicious hour for Brits.
It all went well for Edwards that night, and that morning to be exact, at around 1:30am at the Manchester Arena, Edwards won by third-round submission.
He believes that experience, plus ensuring he takes all the steps necessary to get used to odd working hours this time around, will serve the champions well.
“I’m used to it. I’ve been training late into the night for so long that my body is used to it,” Edwards explained. “I always think if you’re number one in the world, you should be number one in the world at 5 in the morning.”
