Watch: Leon Edwards broke down in tears speaking with his mum after the Belal Muhammad fight
Leon Edwards broke down in tears speaking with his mum after the Belal Muhammad fight.
In a new trailer video released by ESPN MMA for UFC Destined: Edwards vs. Muhammad (Part 2), Edwards can be seen having an emotional conversation with his mother over a video call:
The trailer shows Leon Edwards speaking to his mother over a video call, with his mother consoling him after the controversial no-contest (NC) ending to his fight against Belal Muhammad. Edwards can be heard crying as he tells his mother how difficult the year has been.
Leon Edwards’ mother continues consoling him over the video call. And Edwards’ coach, who’s sitting right next to him in the vehicle they’re traveling in, helps calm him down.
Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad have different plans for their immediate future
Leon Edwards made his long-awaited return to the octagon in the main event of the UFC Fight Night card on March 13th, 2021. He was initially supposed to face the UFC’s 2020 breakout star Khamzat Chimaev. However, the Chimaev fight – which had already been canceled twice prior to this – once again fell apart due to Chimaev’s COVID-related health issues.
Resultantly, Leon Edwards was left without an opponent for his headlining spot on the fight card. The UFC subsequently roped in welterweight mainstay Belal Muhammad to replace Chimaev and fight Edwards.
The UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad event (March 13th, 2021) was headlined by the welterweight bout between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad. Many in the combat sports community believe that Edwards was getting the better of the early exchanges in the fight and convincingly won the first round.
Nevertheless, before the fight could reach another crescendo, an eye poke from Leon Edwards incapacitated Belal Muhammad. This was one of multiple eye pokes Edwards landed on Muhammad in their fight. The fight-ending eye poke came in round two. The referee waved off the fight, as Muhammad was unable to continue due to his eye injury caused by the poke.
The fight was deemed a no contest (NC). In the aftermath of the fight, on one hand, Leon Edwards stated that he plans on moving forward from this matchup and wants his next fight to be for the UFC welterweight title.
On the other hand, Belal Muhammad criticized Leon Edwards for not granting him an immediate rematch. Muhammad believes that he and Edwards ought to run it back at the earliest.