Belal Muhammad slams Leon Edwards’ claim he doesn’t deserve title shot: ’That’s what pisses me off the most about him’

Belal Muhammad knew he should be fighting Leon Edwards in UFC 296’s main event, but he decided to grin and bear it while Colby Covington got his third welterweight title shot in five fights.

In the end, Covington delivered an underwhelming performance with Edwards nearly shutting him out over five lackluster rounds. Before the fight, Muhammad successfully weighed in as a last-minute backup, but he also hoped that gesture would secure his spot as the No. 1 contender.

However, despite Muhammad’s 10-fight unbeaten streak, including multiple wins over top 15 ranked opponents, Edwards still downplayed his chances at getting a title shot, saying “there are definitely other options,” and adding “I don’t feel like Belal should be next.”

In response, Muhammad blasted the reigning UFC welterweight champion for refusing to acknowledge him as the rightful challenger in the division, especially after Edwards endured a similarly long wait while he was racking up win after win.

“Honestly, that’s what pisses me off the most about him,” Muhammad told MMA Fighting. “That’s what’s making me dislike him the most. Not even the fact that we fought, and he’s the one who committed the foul. He’s the one who eye-poked me. I’m the one who took the fight on three weeks’ notice, so he could have a fight. You’re the one who committed that act. I don’t really care about that anymore. Now, we’re looking at just stats.

“I’m on a 10-fight unbeaten streak. You were on a nine-fight unbeaten streak when you were waiting for your title shot and everybody brushing you off. You know how it feels to get brushed off like that.”

The only blemish for either Muhammad or Edwards during their current winning streaks was in 2021, when they met in a main event that ended in a no-contest. On that night, Edwards landed an accidental eye poke that prevented Muhammad from continuing. The fight was called off, but a rematch was never booked.

Since then, Muhammad has remained undefeated, taking out names like Gilbert Burns, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Sean Brady along the way. Still, Edwards has continued to look past him in addressing future title contenders.

“When you were on that streak, you were beating [Rafael dos Anjos], you were beating Donald Cerrone, you were beating Gunnar Nelson – guys that were not in the top 5,” Muhammad said about Edwards. “I have four top 5 wins. I have wins over some of the best fighters in the world. Demian Maia, one of the best grapplers in the world. Wonderboy, one of the best strikers in the world. [Vicente] Luque, one of the best finishers. Sean Brady, that win just doubled in effect, now that he just dominated Kelvin Gastelum. I’m dominating top guys that were on winning streaks, and you’re acting like it’s not nothing.

“The fact that he said, ‘He’s not skipping the line.’ I’m looking like, is this guy an airhead? Is this guy playing dumb, or is he dumb? Because I’m not skipping the line. There’s no line that I’ve skipped. I took the stairs the whole way here. There was no elevator that I got to the top. I had to claw my way to where I am. I had to beg for the biggest fights. I had to fight for the biggest fights.

“I had to fight Gilbert Burns on three weeks’ notice. There’s nothing given to me. I had to earn everything I got, and I had to go the long way to get here. The fact that you’re trying to downplay me, the fact that you’re trying to disrespect my resume, that’s what makes me the most angry about him.”

As much as Edwards might not want the fight, Muhammad knows that even fighters from their division call him the real No. 1 contender. That includes undefeated welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov, who said Muhammad should be next in line.

“Even Shavkat said it!” Muhammad proclaimed. “Even though he beat Wonderboy, I beat Wonderboy as well. I beat Wonderboy two years ago. I’m not trying to downplay anybody. Shavkat’s a monster. He’s a beast. I think he’s getting ankle surgery, so let me and Leon fight, he’ll be next in line.

“I’m not going to be one of those guys like Leon Edwards where I fight him, and then, ‘Oh let me fight one of the guys at [lightweight].’ I want to leave a legacy where I fought the best guys at 170. I want to leave a legacy where I’ve beaten all the best guys at 170 and be considered the best welterweight to ever do it. To do that, I have to beat all these top guys, everybody who they think can beat me. When I’m sitting here being unbiased, and I’m looking at everything, there’s nobody with the resume like mine that’s never been given a title shot.”

Deep down, Muhammad truly believes the UFC will do right by him and offer the title shot – whether nor not Edwards likes it. Just like he did for UFC 296 this past weekend, he is staying ready so he won’t have to get ready, and he welcomes whatever timeline or location suits Edwards, even if that means fighting him in England.

“I’m perfectly fine wherever it is,” Muhammad said. “If it’s in a backyard, if it’s anywhere, I just want my shot. I want my moment.

“To go to Birmingham or go to London and beat him down there on his soil, it would just make the storybook ending to everything. The road that I had to take, the length that I had to go, and to go into enemy territory and dominate Leon Edwards like I think I will, it would be like it was meant to be from the start.”

On Wednesday, Muhammad and Edwards took to social media following an interview on The MMA Hour in which Edwards’ coach Dave Lovell stated that it would be their preference for the champion to defend against Burns, who Muhammad defeated at UFC 288.

Muhammad accused Edwards of “ducking” him, which prompted Edwards to call Muhammad “the least intimidating person in the organization” and to “calm down.”