Tag: Leon Edwards

UFC champ Leon Edwards on Belal Muhammad’s hate towards him: ‘I don’t get it’

Leon Edwards is confused by Belal Muhammad’s resentment towards him.

MANCHESTER, England – [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] is confused by [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag]’s resentment towards him.

Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) defends his welterweight title in a rematch against Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 304 (ESPN+ pay-per-view) main event at Co-op Live.

Muhammad said he hates Edwards and that this fight is personal for him. Edwards finds the entire build-up amusing and poked fun at Muhammad’s coach for comparing his striking to Canelo Alvarez.

“I don’t get it; I don’t know where it’s coming from,” Edwards told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC 304 media day. “I haven’t said much really apart from banter. For me it’s all banter. For him, he starts taking it deadly serious. As far as the Canelo thing, what the f*ck? You know what I mean?”

Edwards was able to rock Muhammad with a head kick early in their first fight in March 2021, before accidentally poking him in the eye just 18 seconds into Round 2. Their fight was ruled a no contest, and Muhammad has been eager to run things back ever since.

Edwards doubts Muhammad stands with him for too long and doesn’t even rate his grappling too highly.

“He might try to, but he won’t have much success in it,” Edwards said on Muhammad striking. “I think everyone knows his game plan would be to come out and try wrestling, but even his wrestling ain’t all that, really. He ain’t a f*cking Khabib (Nurmagomedov) or like a GSP (St-Pierre). He’s Belal (laughs). I don’t know, let’s see.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

UFC 304 ‘Embedded,’ No. 3: Nope, the Leon Edwards-Belal Muhammad elevator run-in wasn’t awkward at all

In the third episode of UFC 304 “Embedded,” Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad have a run-in in the hotel elevator.

The UFC is across the pond for UFC 304, and the popular “Embedded” fight week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.

UFC 304 (pay-per-view/ESPN/ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

In the main event, welterweight champion [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) puts his belt on the line in a rematch with [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) three years after their first encounter ended in a no contest. And in the co-headliner, [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) defends the interim heavyweight championship in a rematch with [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) two years after a freak knee injury to Aspinall ended their first fight.

The third episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:

Champ Leon Edwards has a run in with Belal Muhammad; Champ Tom Aspinall is interviewed by Anthony Smith; King Green eats dinner; Molly McCann goes through check-in interviews; Curtis Blaydes trains at the hotel.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Why Belal Muhammad would rather ‘torture’ Leon Edwards than finish him at UFC 304

Belal Muhammad wants to beat Leon Edwards in convincing and dominant fashion.

MANCHESTER, England – [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] wants to beat [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] in convincing and dominant fashion.

Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) challenges welterweight champion Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 304 (pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+) headliner at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

After amassing a 10-fight unbeaten streak, Muhammad will both finally get a title shot, as well as a chance to run things back with Edwards. He wants to erase any doubt from their no contest in 2021.

“I want to torture him,” Muhammad told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC 304 media day. “I want him to realize how much better I am than him. When you go out there and get a finish, people are like, ‘Oh, you got lucky. It happened because of that.’

“I (want to) go out there and dominate him and beat him in all aspects of MMA – wrestling, grappling, striking, jiu-jitsu, get him to the point of making him want to quit. I want to torture him. I want him to the point of looking at his coaches and his coaches have nothing to say and they walk away because they’re embarrassed.”

Muhammad went as far as saying he hates Edwards and explained why this rematch is so personal for him.

“It’s very personal because when you look at his path to the title and the way he did it, it’s very similar to mine,” Muhammad said. “He had to go the long road. Nobody was respecting him, nobody gave him a shot, and I took a fight on short notice against him and he committed the foul, he injured me, and the fight got stopped because of that. On my end, it was my first main event. This was supposed to be my spot, my time to shine, and it was taken from me by him, and he wouldn’t give me another shot and then he tried to play it off like, ‘I would have won anyway.’ When you put that narrative out there, fans are like, ‘He’s probably right.’

“So from there on out, I just had that in the back of my mind – I had that bad taste in the back of my head this whole time that I want to see what would have happened. Then I’m dominating all these guys and they’re still disrespecting my streak – him, his coach, his team, they’re still saying he’s not next. We need somebody else. So the disrespect he had, he felt it, and he started giving it to me. So that’s what pissed me off. That’s what’s pushing me to hate the guy. That’s what’s making me excited to make him bleed, make him break.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Belal Muhammad details elevator run-in with Leon Edwards’ team at UFC 304: ‘I smelled fear’

“Him and his brother and his coach, they all looked like cowards,” Belal Muhammad said of Leon Edwards and his team before UFC 304.

[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] didn’t have to wait until UFC 304, or even the first faceoff of fight week, to size up [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]. That already happened.

Speaking with MMA Junkie Radio on Tuesday, Muhammad detailed what happened earlier in the day during a chance elevator run-in with Edwards, brother Fabian Edwards, coach Dave Lovell, and about “six or seven guys” total from Team Edwards.

“I just saw him right now in the elevator. He looked like he was afraid,” said Muhammad, adding that he was only with one other person. “Him and his brother and his coach, they all looked like cowards. His coach was trying to talk a little bit of trash, so I’m hoping that his coach is at the press conference, because I know Leon’s not gonna be able to talk.”

Muhammad said Edwards and Co. entered the same elevator that he was riding first. Muhammad said Edwards was largely quiet, and that it was Lovell who did most of the talking.

“I was already on,” Muhammad said. “He wouldn’t be confident enough to stay in the elevator if my group was walking in. He would walk out. For me, we stayed on. They thought they were gonna be cooler or try to be tougher, but I smelled fear. …

“Leon didn’t say a word. His coach was talking, but he just has a weird, stupid accent, and he kind of sounds like he has autism or he’s slow. I don’t know what he was saying, but he didn’t sound smart at all.”

Given that a UFC camera crew follows main event fighters for the “Embedded” series during fight week, there’s a good chance video of the encounter will soon emerge, although it’s unclear if cameras were present at the time.

Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) and Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) headline UFC 304 (ESPN+ pay-per-view) on Saturday from Co-op Live in Manchester, England. The fight is a rematch of their March 2021 bout that ended in a no contest after a nasty eye poke by Edwards in the second round.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

UFC 304 ‘Embedded,’ No. 2: Inside ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann’s Polpetta Italian deli at Baltic Market

In the second episode of UFC 304 “Embedded,” “Meatball” Molly McCann takes us to her restaurant.

The UFC is across the pond for UFC 304, and the popular “Embedded” fight week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.

UFC 304 (pay-per-view/ESPN/ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

In the main event, welterweight champion [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) puts his belt on the line in a rematch with [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) three years after their first encounter ended in a no contest. And in the co-headliner, [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) defends the interim heavyweight championship in a rematch with [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) two years after a freak knee injury to Aspinall ended their first fight.

The second episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:

Belal Muhammad runs up stairs before traveling to England; Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann train together; Champ Tom Aspinall packs for the hotel; Giga Chikadze trains with Beniel Dariush; Champ Leon Edwards arrives in Manchester; King Green eats dinner.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Paddy Pimblett, Leon Edwards get custom shorts for UFC 304 in Manchester

It looks like a pair of British superstars will be a little happier this week thanks to Venum and the UFC.

It looks like a pair of British superstars will be a little happier this week thanks to Venum and the UFC.

[autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 5-0 UFC) wanted some custom fight shorts for his UFC 304 featured matchup on the main card this week against King Green (32-15-1 MMA, 13-10-1 UFC), and while there hasn’t been an official announcement from the promotion that Pimblett will be rocking custom orange shorts in Manchester, they’ve been revealed.

In addition, welterweight champion [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) will have some custom green shorts for his title defense rematch against challenger Belal Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) in the main event.

MMA journalist Chris De Santiago first posted images of Pimblett and Edwards’ UFC 304 shorts on social media.

The UFC, after several years with Reebok as its fight kit partner, moved to Venum and occasionally a fighter requests a custom pair and has that request answered.

“It’s exactly what I’ve envisioned,” Pimblett recently told MMA Junkie about his fight in Manchester, not far from his home in Liverpool. “I’ve envisioned coming out, the lights go black, the crowd goes absolutely bananas as my song comes on, everyone’s singing, going mad, and I’ve just got my orange shorts on, just like back in the day when I’d come out for Cage Warriors with the orange shorts and take over the arena.”

UFC 304 (pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Real or fake? UFC champ Leon Edwards kicks insane full-court trick shot

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards is no stranger to making highlight videos with his kicks, but is this trick shot legit?

UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] is going viral for another highlight kick.

Edwards, who claimed gold by famously knocking out Kamaru Usman with a head kick in the final minute at UFC 278 to pull off a comeback win for the ages, is just days away from returning to the cage. In his attempt at a third title defense, he’ll face Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC 304 in Manchester, England.

Before he even steps into the cage this weekend, Edwards has created another highlight-reel moment with a kick.

While jogging by a basketball court, Edwards is called over. “Rocky” waves for the ball, which is tossed in his direction. Just as the ball arrives at his feet, he punts it full court in one smooth motion to hit a ridiculous trick shot swish on the other end.

The people on the court go crazy, and Edwards turns to the camera to deliver his signature “Headshot, dead” tagline, made famous by the Usman knockout.

There are even two angles of the shot!

Check it out below:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9vUj7ICfBF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

These are cool videos, for sure. But is it legit?

It feels a little bit like that old Lebron James Powerade commercial that features the NBA legend sinking five full-court shots in a row with zero effort.

What do you think? Is Edwards just a wizard with his feet, or is this another example of clever video editing?

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

UFC 304 ‘Embedded,’ No. 1: Inside Tom Aspinall’s humble MMA training origins

In the first episode of UFC 304 “Embedded,” Tom Aspinall and his father show off where his MMA training originally began.

The UFC is across the pond for UFC 304, and the popular “Embedded” fight week video series is here to document what’s happening behind the scenes.

UFC 304 (pay-per-view/ESPN/ESPN+) takes place Saturday at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

In the main event, welterweight champion [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) puts his belt on the line in a rematch with [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) three years after their first encounter ended in a no contest. And in the co-headliner, [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) defends the interim heavyweight championship in a rematch with [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) two years after a freak knee injury to Aspinall ended their first fight.

The first episode of “Embedded” follows the featured fighters while they get ready for fight week. Here is the UFC’s description of the episode from YouTube:

Tom Aspinall trains with his dad and shows off his mural; Belal Muhammad eats, trains, and prays; Curtis Blaydes heads to the mountains; Giga Chikadze hangs out at home.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Leon Edwards’ coach, Dave Lovell, breaks down potential Islam Makhachev matchup

Dave Lovell thinks Islam Makhachev would struggle with fellow UFC champion Leon Edwards’ size.

Coach [autotag]Dave Lovell[/autotag] believes UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] would struggle with [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]’ size.

Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) has reiterated interest in moving up to challenge welterweight champ Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC). The pair trained together years ago at American Kickboxing Academy. With Edwards’ recent title defenses coming over standout wrestlers such as Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman, Lovell is confident that Edwards would be able to handle Makhachev’s grappling prowess.

“Leon’s had a feel of him already because back in the day, they were at (American Kickboxing Academy) when they basically first started out their career, and they did have a little wrestle, along with Khabib and the rest of the boys,” Lovell told Submission Radio. “So you know, Islam moving up to welter, would he be big enough? Would he have the same effect that he has at his weight now? I don’t think so. Has he met a sharpshooter like Leon? No, he hasn’t. And again, what can Islam bring to Leon? Size wise, Leon’s physically bigger than him. Outreaches him.

“So again, he’s going to resort to what he knows, which is his wrestling. So it’s just unfortunate that you look at the last guys Leon fought: Usman twice, Colby, all wrestlers. Now Belal, wrestler. Islam, he’s not known for his striking. They’re known for their wrestling, and that’s basically – Leon’s improving. People don’t understand, which is what I told Ariel Helwani in the last interview. He said to me about the wrestling with Leon, and I said that everybody just may get shocked when Leon comes out against Colby and shows Colby and Usman his quality of wrestling, and he proved it to the world.”

Edwards will look to make his third title defense when he rematches Belal Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 304 headliner at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

Like Makhachev, Edwards also has his sights set on dual-champion status, and Lovell sees that goal as attainable.

“One step at a time,” Lovell said. “But if that’s his plan, which is not a bad plan because we’ve got a few fighters that have done it and in the process of wanting to do it, so why should Leon be any different? He’s big enough that he could fill out to make a middleweight.

“I wouldn’t suggest he stays there, but if he can go up there and pick a fight where he can get a title win and then move back down to welterweight, well, that would be his dream to be fair right now. That’s his next move. But, you know, when that comes, we’ll look on obviously making that move.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Spinning Back Clique LIVE: Jake Paul KOs Mike Perry, UFC 304 preview, more

On “Spinning Back Clique,” our panel discusses Virna Jandiroba’s title chances, Jake Paul defeating Mike Perry, UFC 304, and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Matthew Wells join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag] may have punched her ticket to a strawweight title shot with her performance in the UFC on ESPN 60 headliner. Jandiroba forced Amanda Lemos to tap from an armbar in the second round to record her fourth-straight win. Now firmly in the upper tier of the division, will she get the next crack at Zhang Weili’s title?
  • [autotag]Jake Paul[/autotag] picked up a win over another UFC veteran by knocking out [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag]. Paul turned his attention to [autotag]Mike Tyson[/autotag] and even called out UFC champ [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag]. Of course, [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] had a lot to say and got involved in the conversation. What should Paul do next?
  • UFC 304 goes down in Manchester, and two titles will be on the line. Will [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] defend his welterweight crown against [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag]? Can [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] hold on to his piece of the heavyweight throne by beating [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag]?
  • The “Spinning Back Clique” touches on a few other news and notes, such as the news of Movsar Evloev fighting Aljamain Sterling, Nick Diaz’s travel issues to Abu Dhabi, and UFC Marc Ratner’s comments on open scoring.

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