Welterweight contender Belal Muhammad won’t get a rematch with Leon Edwards, but he will get another top-10 ranked opponent.
Here’s to no eye pokes in this one.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported on Saturday night that a welterweight bout between #8 ranked former title challenger Demian Maia and #13 ranked Belal Muhammad have agreed to fight at UFC 262 on June 12th.
Maia (28-10) has not fought since a TKO loss to Gilbert Burns in March of last year. It marked only the second time he had ever been finished, and it snapped a three-fight winning run that included submissions over Lyman Good and Ben Askren. The 43-year-old legendary grappler is undoubtedly in the twilight of his career, and has discussed retirement since 2019, so perhaps this may be his swan song.
Muhammad (18-3, 1 NC) unfortunately had his four-fight winning streak ended when Leon Edwards’ horrendous eye poke in round two resulted in a no contest. The former Titan FC champion has lost just once in his last ten fights and has picked up notable wins over Dhiego Lima, Tim Means, Randy Brown, and Takashi Sato.
UFC 263 is expected to feature a men’s flyweight title rematch between champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno. No location or venue has been announced as of yet.