"I ain’t Conor McGregor and he ain’t Khabib"- Leon Edwards tears into Belal Muhammad for using 'The Eagle' to credit himself
Leon Edwards will look to defend his welterweight title when he faces Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC 304 this weekend. 'Rocky' recently ripped into his opponent for comparing himself to UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Speaking at UFC 304 media day, the welterweight champion stated:
"I think everyone knows his game plan will be to come out and try wrestling, but even his wrestling ain't all that, really. He ain't no Khabib or [Georges St-Pierre], he's Belal. I don't know, let's see."
When asked about Muhammad's claims that he will do what Nurmagomedov did to Conor McGregor at UFC 229, Edwards responded:
"I ain't Conor McGregor and he ain't Khabib. You can't use Khabib to credit yourself. You ain't Khabib. You didn't grow up with Khabib. You probably trained for a little bit, that's about it. I've trained with Khabib before. What does that mean? Nothing. He's using another man's work to gain confidence off his work, but you ain't put that kind of work in."
Check out Leon Edwards' comments on Belal Muhammad below:
While he has faced criticism for retiring in his prime, Nurmagomedov is widely regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. He walked away from mixed martial arts with a 29-0 record, which included 13 wins in the UFC. The UFC Hall of Famer was able to capture the lightweight title and defend it three times before retiring. Muhammad will look to carve out his own legacy when he receives the first title opportunity of his UFC career this weekend.
Leon Edwards does not want to fight Israel Adesanya
Leon Edwards has not been shy about his plans to chase double-champ status. He recently reiterated that his goal has not changed. However, he noted that he would not be willing to face Israel Adesanya.
'Rocky' shared that his plan is to move up to middleweight sometime late in 2025 or early in 2026 during a recent interview with Nik Hobbs of TNT Sports. He was then asked about who he would like to face, responding:
"I don't know. I don't care. Whoever is the champ at the time... Not Izzy, I don't want to fight Izzy. Not because I'm afraid of him, just that we've built a relationship where it would be weird to fight him. I feel like I'd have to build myself up in my brain to compete against him, but everybody else, then yeah."
Check out Leon Edwards' comments about Israel Adesanya below:
Adesanya will have the opportunity to reclaim the middleweight title when he challenges Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 305 next month. He will have the opportunity to become just the second fighter in UFC history to win a belt in the same division three times - joining Randy Couture, who accomplished the feat at heavyweight.