Belal Muhammad fires angry reaction after learning he was not one of three opponents offered to fight Leon Edwards at UFC 300
While Leon Edwards shared that he was interested in fighting at UFC 300, a bout featuring the welterweight champion failed to materialize. Tim Simpson recently revealed that 'Rocky' was offered three opponents for the landmark card, noting that Belal Muhammad was not amongst them.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, Edwards' manager was asked why he isn't on the card, responding:
"Opponent. They reached out right after he fought Colby in December. Hunter came to the back and him and Leon have a good relationship. They had a chat and I said 'so what are we doing?' Right after the fight get a match. And he was like, '300' and I was like, 'let's go, 300'. I told Leon, 'you might be fighting on 300'. He was like, 'amazing'... That was our thought was 300."
Edwards added:
"I thought it was Belal Muhammad, he's right there. That's what I kind of said to Hunter in the back. I was like, 'Belal?' and he was like, 'well, we're going to see' and I was like, 'what does that mean because who else is there?' and then as we're getting to eight to ten weeks out, they said 'what about Khamzat Chimaev?'... Call back a couple days later, 'would you fight Islam Makhachev at 170 for the title?'... Then they said, 'listen, can we rely on him if we go to Shavkat [Rakhmonov]?'"
Check out Tim Simpson's full comments on the opponents offered to Leon Edwards below:
While Edwards accepted all three opponents he was offered and their team asked about facing Muhammad, Simpson revealed that there were never any discussions about facing the No.2-ranked welterweight at UFC 300. He noted that a welterweight title bout featuring 'Rocky' and 'Remember the Name' likely wouldn't be a marquee event, leading the latter to chime in on X, stating:
"Leon, his manager, his coach, his brother ..all b**ches"
Check out Belal Muhammad's tweet below:
While Muhammad could still wind up being the next welterweight to challenge Edwards for the title, it appears that the promotion had no interest in him headlining UFC 300. 'Rocky' appears likely to defend his belt at UFC 304, which is rumored to be ticketed for Manchester.
Dana White praised Leon Edwards for accepting multiple opponents
Leon Edwards' manager was not the first to mention that he accepted three potential opponents for UFC 300. Speaking at the UFC 298 post-fight press conference, Dana White stated:
''In this business, it's about taking opportunities, headlining UFC 300 with all the buzz and all the energy around it. Let me say this, Leon Edwards has had like three opponents throughout this thing. Leon Edwards doesn't say no to anybody. This kid is an absolute stud. He's had like three opponents thrown at him during UFC 300. Yes, yes, yes, was willing to take on anybody man, kid's an absolute stud. Leon, thank you, much respect.''
Check out Dana White's comment on Leon Edwards below:
Despite accepting multiple opponents, Edwards will not compete on the landmark card. His willingness to take on any opponent, however, has likely put him in the good graces of the promotional frontman.