UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad was seemingly not too impressed by Leon Edwards’ title win and successful defense against Kamaru Usman.
Muhammad will mark the latest challenger in the reign of Edwards this weekend, with the pair set to run it back in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 304 pay-per-view at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England.
While the champion has dismissed talk of bad blood between the pair, “Remember the Name” has been open in expressing his disdain for his rival ahead of his opportunity to dethrone him in enemy territory.
More than just a personal hatred for “Rocky,” Muhammad has frequently attempted to take away from his achievements on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage.
During UFC 304 fight week, that’s included branding both of Edwards’ wins over the great Usman as unimpressive…
Muhammad Insists His Strength Of Schedule Trumps Edwards’
During a fight week interview for UFC.com, Muhammad looked ahead to his long-awaited first title shot and assessed the man at the expense of whom he’s tasked with winning the belt.
The challenger has long questioned Edwards’ own path to the championship en route to facing Usman in 2022. But in his latest remarks, Muhammad even downplayed his last-gasp knockout of “The Nigerian Nightmare” to capture gold and subsequent five-round win over the ex-champ to defend it in their trilogy fight.
“I’ve had the harder journey,” Muhammad said. “He’s fought Nate Diaz, who is a lightweight. Then he got the Usman fighter, getting beat up and threw a Hail Mary, caught him with it. And then the third fight with Usman wasn’t the same Usman. I think people give Leon a little bit too much credit. I don’t think Usman was the same person. And then the Colby (Covington) fight, I don’t even consider that a fight. Both guys suck.
“Not impressed at all. It’s impressive that he found that needle in a haystack to catch Usman with that kick. But other than that, I think I’ve fought and had to go through tougher tests than him,” Muhammad continued. “I’ve showed more in my fights than he’s showed in his.”
Muhammad will look to prove that he’s a bigger threat to Edwards than both Covington and Usman when the cage door closes behind him and the champ at UFC 304 on Saturday night.
