UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards believes he’ll have the advantage of more recent activity over Belal Muhammad this weekend.
Edwards will put his 170-pound title on the line for the third time at the UFC 304 pay-per-view event on Saturday night, headlining the card in front of his home fans at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England.
Having retained possession of the gold at the expense of Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington in 2023, Edwards is next tasked with revisiting his history with Muhammad over three years on from their first fight.
The pair had a UFC Fight Night main event back in 2021 end in disaster after an accidental eye poke rendered “Remember the Name” unable to continue.
While “Rocky” went on to achieve title glory, Muhammad has worked his way to first shot at the belt and rematch with the Brit courtesy of five straight wins over Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, and Gilbert Burns.
Some have pointed to that impressive run to justify their predictions for ‘and new’ in the UFC 304 main event. Edwards, however, believes the wait to extend the streak will be to Muhammad’s disadvantage…
Edwards: 14-Month Layoff Could Impact Muhammad At UFC 304
During a recent interview with Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter, Edwards looked ahead to his third defense of the welterweight title and second on home soil since capturing it at the expense of Usman almost two years ago.
“Rocky” pointed out that Muhammad has been awaiting his opportunity ever since outpointing Burns in May 2023. And with the champ having got the better of Covington last December, he expects the seven-month disparity in their layoffs to show itself at UFC 304.
“Come next Saturday, he hasn’t fought for more than a year. He’s 36 years old now? 37 years old? Whatever he is. And he was slow anyway,” Edwards said with a laugh. “I feel like me now coming out, I fought in December and been training ever since. I feel like I’ve had the harder fights. I’ve had similar style matchups my last three or four fights. So I feel like it’s all playing out well, you know?”
When he enters the cage on July 27, Muhammad will be looking to break a record and prove a notable stat regarding age wrong. A victory would mark him as the oldest title challenger to win gold in the 170-pound division or lower.
Nevertheless, while stats would point to his age as a significant advantage for the champ, Edwards insisted he is preparing for and ready to dispatch the best possible Muhammad come fight night in Manchester.
One of the most unforgettable moments in UFC history
@Leon_EdwardsMMA returns at #UFC304 looking for his 3rd straight welterweight title defense! pic.twitter.com/fiqiPWJVxZ
— UFC (@ufc) July 22, 2024
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