Former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards doesn’t expect the man who removed him from the division’s throne to occupy it for much longer.
After losing his grip on the 170-pound title courtesy of Belal Muhammad last July, Edwards was expecting to return to action opposite Jack Della Maddalena in London this weekend.
That changed last month, however, when the Australian contender was pulled from the UFC Fight Night main event to challenge Muhammad at UFC 315 on May 10 in Montreal. Edwards, meanwhile, will now battle Sean Brady on March 22.
Ahead of his appearance at The O2, Edwards has been vocal in stating that a victory will earn him a quick shot at returning to the welterweight mountaintop.
While he’d like nothing more than to exact revenge on Muhammad, he seemingly doesn’t foresee “Remember the Name” still being on the throne by the time he gets back to it.
“If I had to put money on it, I’d probably favor JDM,” Leon Edwards said during an appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned. “I feel like JDM, his boxing is what will probably shut him (Muhammad) down. And he’s a good anti-grappler, JDM. It’s easy to take him down, but his scrambles on the floor are good. I feel like Belal won’t be enough to hold him down for that long. So maybe JDM, if I had to put money on it.”
Muhammad’s first title defense was expected to come against Shavkat Rakhmonov. But after an injury to the champion scrapped that last December, the Kazakh contender is now the one ruled out.
The Palestinian-American’s clash with Della Maddalena will mark one of two title bouts on the UFC 315 card, with Valentina Shevchenko also putting her flyweight title on the line opposite France’s Manon Fiorot.
