Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender Leon Edwards will (finally) earn a crack at the 170-pound title with a “spectacular” win over No. 13-ranked Belal Muhammed in the UFC Vegas 21 main event this Sat. night (March 13) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
That’s according to promotion president Dana White.
“100 percent, yeah,” White told BT Sport, though it should be noted host Caroline Pearce used the word “spectacular,” so perhaps White can worm his way out of the commitment if “Rocky” turns in a workmanlike performance to secure a unanimous decision victory.
Something he’s done several times in the past.
Muhammed (18-3), who fills in for the ailing Khamzat Chimaev, has won four in a row and eight of his last 10, so this is hardly a lay-up for Edwards, also 18-3. Working in his favor is the fact that welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is currently unbooked.
Edwards, 29, lost a decision to the “Nigerian Nightmare” in Dec. 2015.