Belal Muhammad extended his unbeaten streak to eight consecutive fights with his unanimous decision win over Vicente Luque in UFC Vegas 51’s main event, but he still has no illusions that he’ll receive the next title shot in the welterweight division.
Leon Edwards will face Kamaru Usman, the reigning champion, later in this year. However, no dates have been set and contracts signed or issued. Still, UFC president Dana White has stated rather emphatically that Edwards deserves the next shot at Usman, although Muhammad definitely doesn’t understand the logic behind that choice.
“I don’t think he deserves to fight for the title,” Muhammad said of Edwards at the UFC Vegas 51 post-fight press conference. “I believe that I do. He got the Dana White privilege. However, it doesn’t mean I expect anything. I must fight for what I have and I am willing to continue doing so
Of course, Muhammad has past experience with Edwards. After Muhammad was offered the chance, they met up in a fight at main events in March 2021.
The official decision was no contest after Edwards gave Muhammad an eye poke. Muhammad pushed for an immediate rematch, but the UFC opted to move in a different direction, with Edwards eventually picking up a win over Nate Diaz to solidify his position as the No. 1 contender in the division.
While Edwards has an undefeated streak of six years back and 10 wins, Muhammad laughs at his entire resume, particularly when considering the number rank welterweights who have won.
“Who’s the only one in the division with a better run than I am on?” Muhammad said. “I’m literally fighting [Demian] Maia, ‘Wonderboy’ [Stephen Thompson], Luque. Colby [Covington] who are you fighting? Colby has suffered two defeats in succession. Leon is fighting! [155 pounders].Leon is fighting
“None of these guys are fighting the contenders in the division. None of these guys had the guts to do that. I’m the one that’s going through 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 [in the rankings]. My answer to the most difficult division is “Yes”, Leon might have more wins than I, but his .”
wins aren’t as good.
Immediately after his win, Muhammad called for a fight against Colby Covington, who hasn’t been officially booked since beating Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision back in March.
All signs point to the UFC booking Covington against Khamzat Chimiaev, undefeated welterweight. However, nothing is confirmed yet.
In a perfect world, Muhammad would love to draw one of those names as his next opponent, because he knows deep down that Edwards just isn’t going to be an option.
” I feel like there are a lot more guys than me who don’t have fights,” Muhammad stated. “Honestly, Leon doesn’t have a fight. They’re saying Usman but I just don’t think Usman’s ready for that yet [because of his hand surgery]. It just does not make sense unless Leon is willing to wait until September, October.
” I think that a fight would make sense. But, you guys will post the headline: ‘He wants Leon to fight’. Then, the fans will go [say], to slam him for being a crying baby. Colby and Khamzat are the best men in this fight, but neither of them has fought .”
.
As far as timing goes, Muhammad would like to stay busy, although admittedly there are only so many options available to him right now at the top of the welterweight division.
Perhaps the most important thing is to have the opportunity to fight on the same card as Usman, when Edwards gets set to take on Usman. Muhammad feels that this could be the best chance for him to win UFC gold.
” If a title fight is going to take place in July, then I would like to be there,” Muhammad said. Leon is lucky that his fights are cancelled on an almost daily basis. I assume something will occur where he trips over a wire or some other reason. I will step in to fight Usman .”
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