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Leon Edwards Claims He Beats Belal Muhammad ‘Ten Times Out Of Ten’

Despite the controversial ending to their UFC Vegas 21 headliner last weekend, welterweight contender, Leon Edwards has distanced himself from a potential rematch against Belal Muhammad, but claims if he was to meet the Chicago native again he’d beat him “ten times out of ten“. Making his first Octagon appearance since UFC Fight Night San […]

Making his first Octagon appearance since UFC Fight Night San Antonio back in July of 2019, Birmingham native, Edwards started brightly, to say the least, snapping a stinging one-two in the opening round, before forcing a wobble and retreat from Muhammad via a whipping left high-kick around Muhammad’s guard.

Seeing the matchup called in the second round, Edwards landed an unintentional poke to Muhammad’s left eye for the second time of the night, this time, however, drawing a massive reaction from the #13 contender, who immediately fell to his back on the canvas, reeling in pain.

Consulting the Octagon-side physician, referee Herb Dean urged Muhammad to gather his composure, who was in extreme pain as he reeled — worrying explaining to the above-mentioned doctor that he couldn’t “see anything” from his left eye when questioned if he was experiencing double-vision — resulting in Dean’s decision to wave off the fight, declaring the bout a ‘No Contest’.

Immediately distancing himself from a potential re-run with Muhammad, Edwards surprisingly claimed that the result now meant “nine in a row” for him, and echoed prior calls throughout 2020 for a shot at welterweight champion, one-time foe, Kamaru Usman’s throne.

Speaking with UFC colour-commentator, Joe Rogan on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience — Edwards claimed that while Muhammad is a durable fighter if he was pitted with him ten times, he’d prevail each time.

“He’s (Belal Muhammad) durable, he’s very durable,” Edwards said. “When I caught him with a head-kick in the first round — I kinda rushed my work a little bit, I kinda went wild and started swinging for him. But I should’ve picked my shots a little bit better. But he’s tough, he’s durable, but he doesn’t beat me. Any given day, I believe, if we fight ten times I beat him ten times, that’s just it.“

“He was a late step-in, Khamzat (Chimaev) stepped out, and I think he should work his way back up. And then hopefully we can meet somewhere down the line, but for now, I’m looking for the title shot, I’m looking to become a world champion.“

Despite calls for a shot at welterweight gold in his next outing, the promotion has already booked an undisputed championship rematch between the above mentioned, Usman and BMF champion, Edwards’ rival, Jorge Masvidal to take main event honours at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida on April 24.

Whilst initially refusing to do “charity” for Edwards by accepting a short-notice matchup with him for last weekend, former interim champion, Colby Covington has claimed that a matchup between the two can be possible in the future if the UFC compensate him sufficiently.

Aljamain Sterling Reveals Why He’s In No Rush To Rematch Petr Yan

Aljamain Sterling will be taking his time before running it back with former bantamweight champion Petr Yan. From the moment the championship belt was wrapped around the waist of Aljamain Sterling as a result of a disqualification, the conclusion of UF…

Rampage: Molenkamp ‘doesn’t even have the power’ to cancel contracts

Rampage Jackson walks out for his 2019 bout against Fedor Emelianenko in Bellator. | Photo by Masashi Hara/Getty Images

The former UFC champion and PRIDE legend comes to the defense of Monster Energy contractor Hans Mole…

The former UFC champion and PRIDE legend comes to the defense of Monster Energy contractor Hans Molenkamp.

One of the most notable stories to come out of UFC 259 was Dominick Cruz’s sudden thrusting of fringe MMA figure Hans Molenkamp into the public discourse. Cruz used his post-fight interview, following a victory over Casey Kenney, to issue a call-out to the Monster Energy rep over his apparent mistreatment of fighters under contract with the soda brand.

Cruz – backed up by fellow former UFC champion Michael Bisping, and a former photographer for Monster Energy who claims to have worked alongside Molenkamp for several years – claimed that Molenkamp has used his position, as the gateway between athletes and Monster HQ, to force fighters to pose for photos, act in videos, and comment on his personal social media pages—under the threat of having their contracts with the brand cancelled.

Molenkamp has not commented publicly on the allegations, and a phone number connected to him has reportedly been disconnected. However, Monster Energy has issued a statement claiming that they are investigating the allegations. As that process plays out, Molenkamp has picked up at least one vocal defender: former UFC champion, Bellator & PRIDE star Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson.

Jackson, who has been a longtime sponsored athlete for Monster, spoke of his own experiences with Molenkamp, as well as the allegations against him. Most notably claiming that the brand rep’s position with the company doesn’t even allow the kind of power others have claimed he’s abusing.

“Hans doesn’t even have the power to say, ‘You don’t get a contract if you don’t post this or do that,’” Jackson told MMA Junkie in a recent interview. “I think he can vouch for you, but if you already got a Monster deal, he can’t just cancel your contract because you don’t do something for him. It doesn’t work that way. I just feel bad. It seems like too many people are chiming in, and I’m like, ‘How come nobody is telling the truth about Hans, that he isn’t like that?’”

Jackson did suggest that Molenkamp has overstated or misstated his relationship with celebrities in the combat sports sphere, such as Conor McGregor and Dana White in the past. And that he does often ask athletes to work with him to create skits for social media. But, in his own experience, that’s all been entirely fun and voluntary and nothing out of the norm.

“I hang out with Hans when we do Monster shoots and things like,” Jackson said of his relationship with Molenkamp. “Hans will ask you, ‘Let’s do this sh-t for the Internet, for social media,’ but everybody does that now. If you’re a fighter or anything, and you’re hanging out with your peers or your people, people are going to ask you to do some sh-t.

“No way will Hans ever ask people, ‘Do this post for me or you’re not going to get a sponsorship.’ That sh-t is f-cking stupid.”

As to whether or not Jackson was making these comments at Molenkamp’s urging (as former Monster Energy photographer Courtney Henderson claimed would happen in response to his own, and Cruz’s, allegations), Jackson reportedly brushed the idea aside, saying he’s even had his own clashes with Molenkamp over the years. “Sometimes Hans and I don’t see eye-to-eye, and I can understand why people would get mad at him,” the former Bellator light heavyweight tournament winner admitted. But Jackson reiterated that it’s never been a “do this post or you ain’t going to get no sponsorship,” situation.

Combat Sports Academy owner Kirian Fitzgibbons seems to be firmly in sync with Jackson on his opinion of Molenkamp. In a recent post on Instagram, Fitzgibbons spoke about his gym’s own longtime relationship with Monster Energy, calling Molenkamp “one of my favorite people in the industry.”

Fitzgibbons also claimed he had never been “held captive” by his sponsorship deal with the beverage manufacturer, and took things a step further, with a shot back at Cruz.

“What I can say knowing how things work with Monster … Dom has about a 10 year relationship with Monster… off those 10 years at least 6 of them he spent inactive on the sidelines due to injuries or the pandemic and he hasn’t been champion in over 4 years … beyond his personal relationship with Hans I don’t believe he gets the Monster Deal at all AND he certainly does not keep it having spent 60% of his time not fighting. I mean am I the only person who understands how these things work???

“They certainly don’t sponsor him as a hand model? Without question Hans is the ONLY reason he had it as long as he has. So let keep things in perspective shall we. The more you know ”

With what, by all accounts, seems to be a lot of money on the table – and some very public airing of grievances – it looks like this could become a very ugly spat in the MMA industry. Whether Monster Energy can calm things through their own investigation remains to be seen. In the meantime, it appears more voices are going to add their side to the narrative of Molenkamp’s involvement in MMA.

Gregor Gillespie: Unfazed And Ready To Compete

After A Layoff Of Nearly 18 Months, Gregor Gillespie Is All-Focus Ahead Of His Bout At UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Holland
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After A Layoff Of Nearly 18 Months, Gregor Gillespie Is All-Focus Ahead Of His Bout At UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Holland

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Macy Chiasson Finds The Middle Ground

Hardworking Bantamweight Returns With Goal Of Adding Composure To Her Already-Dangerous Game. She Meets Marion Renau Saturday At UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Holland.
Read the Full Article Here

Hardworking Bantamweight Returns With Goal Of Adding Composure To Her Already-Dangerous Game. She Meets Marion Renau Saturday At UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Holland.

Read the Full Article Here

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry ‘Proud’ To Welcome UFC, Dana White Back To Florida

Ahead of their first outing in Jacksonville, Florida since May of last year, city mayor, Lenny Curry has told how he’s proud to welcome the UFC and its president, Dana White back to the ‘Sunshine State’ for it’s April 24 UFC 261 pay-per-view event. Slated to make a return to the Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena […]

Slated to make a return to the Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, the promotion is also set to field an open gate for the first time since UFC 248 last year, with the Arena in Florida available to a full capacity of 15,000 spectators.

Featuring a tripleheader of title fights for the second time in just over a month, the organization headlines the event with a welterweight championship rematch between incumbent titleholder, Kamaru Usman and BMF champion, hometown favourite, Jorge Masvidal.

Taking co-main event honours as she attempts her fifth defence of the flyweight championship, dominant pacesetter, Valentina Shevchenko clashes with former strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade in a massive title matchup, which on paper, promises fireworks.

Beginning our trio of title fights on the card, a well-overdue matchup for strawweight gold. Current titleholder, Zhang Weili returns from her Fight of the Year winning effort against former champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, attempting her second title knockback against another former champion; ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas.

Releasing a statement to outlet, Bloody Elbow, Jacksonville mayor, Curry spoke of how proud the state is to have the UFC and White back on their soil again, praising current governor, Ron DeSantis for his handling of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in almost two million cases in the state at the time of writing.

“Thanks to the strong leadership of Governor (Ron) DeSantis and his smart and safe approach throughout COVID-19, Florida is poised to host signature sporting events,” Curry’s statement read. “The UFC and it’s president, Dana White, have demonstrated the ability to safely host fans at multiple events that have taken place during the pandemic in Florida, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi. For the thousands of UFC fans who are ready to return to world-class sports entertainment, we are proud to welcome you back to Jacksonville.“

Jacksonville served as the host to the promotion’s UFC 249 event last May, featuring a main event for the interim lightweight title where Justin Gaethje stopped former gold holder, Tony Ferguson with fifth round strikes. In the co-headliner, Henry Cejudo lodged his first and final successful bantamweight title defence with a second round knockout of Dominick Cruz