Belal Muhammad got past all the comments from his haters and emerged victorious when a championship opportunity presented itself. He rag-dolled former champion Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in the latter’s home country, becoming the welterweight champion after eight years of climbing the ladder to reach the top. Surely there’ll be new challengers popping up for Muhammad in the months to come, but what’s next for ‘Rocky’? Well, the Briton is looking to win back his champion.

Leon Edwards is not looking to go back to the line and climb all the way up again to fight for the title because he believes he deserves a title shot. The former champion had been undefeated since 2016 until July of this year, so the loss hasn’t quite sunk in. However, Edwards is planning to make a return in late 2025, with an aim to do what legends Matt Hughes and Georges St-Pierre have done and become the third 2-time welterweight champion that Dana White‘s promotion has ever seen.

“My goal right now is to obviously get the belt back. I’d love to be champion again by the end of the year next year, around this time next year,” Leon Edwards stated in an interview posted on his sponsor Myprotein’s Instagram handle. “Just putting steps in place. I haven’t lost a fight now in, like, nine years. So, I was getting used to that feeling again. I think I hate losing more than I love winning… My goal is to be a two-time world champion.”

While Leon Edwards is looking to get a title rematch against Belal Muhammad, it seems like a former UFC fighter has his eyes on him. That fight is someone that ‘Rocky’ has a history with and he claims that he’s got some unfinished business with the former welterweight champion.

Recently retired UFC star wants to “settle” the beef with Leon Edwards

Jorge Masvidal didn’t quite get the fairytale ending to his UFC run, which was filled with some of the most exciting moments ever in the promotion. He recently announced plans to come back and fight again, which sparked rumors about a potential fight against Leon Edwards when the UFC returns to London next year. During a recent interview, Masvidal mentioned wanting to fight Conor McGregor, but if that doesn’t happen, he would love to have a scrap against Edwards. The welterweight stars had an altercation during a UFC event in London in 2019, which never translated into an actual fight.

“They’re saying he might want to do it, but I’m chilling. If he wants to do it, great, I’ll kill him. If not, Leon Edwards. He and I have history, and it’s time to settle it. He’s not booked, and neither am I. Let’s go, sign the contract, and I’ll break your face,” Jorge Masvidal told ‘MMA Junkie’. What do you think? Is Masvidal vs Edwards the fight to make?

Well, it remains to be seen what the UFC wants from Leon Edwards because the Jorge Masvidal fight may never happen. That’s because Dana White has already said “probably not” when asked about seeing ‘Gamebred’ return. Hence, we’ll have to wait and see how the former BMF champion’s return to MMA looks like.