Imagine defeating the boogeyman of the division, Kamaru Usman, in a historic title win, and maintaining an undefeated record for the past eight years. Suddenly, you’re scheduled to face one of the top contenders in the welterweight division. However, there’s a catch — the fight is set for 5:00 AM, with exhaustion weighing heavily on you. Would you feel good about that? Well, that’s exactly what happened to Leon Edwards when he lost his title to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304. A year has passed since that incident and ‘Rocky’ still holds onto the thread of defeat.

While conversing with renowned journalist Ariel Helwani, Leon Edwards was asked about his thoughts on the thrashing defeat against Belal Muhammad and his initial reaction showed nothing but utter disappointment for himself. Answering Helwani, ‘Rocky’ said, “My reactions were slow, you know. I could think in my head what I wanted to do, what I trained to do, but for some reason, my body and my mind just weren’t in sync as they normally are in fights.”

He further added, “Like I said, competing, I think I walked out at 5:00 a.m. It felt like someone woke me up and said, ‘Okay, go fight.’ You got to go and fight, you know what I mean? Then I got in there. But as I said, it is what it is. Even though he got the win, it was still a close fight.” A fair argument from Edwards as the timings really did take a toll on British fighters who were not accustomed to fighting so early in the morning. However, it should be noted that ‘Remember The Name’ also fought early in the morning, so Edwards’ argument to set himself apart may not hold much weight.

Belal Muhammad dominated Leon Edwards in both striking and wrestling. ‘Rocky’ was outstruck by the current champion and was dropped twice on his head during the wrestling exchanges. Despite his best efforts, the former champion had to swallow the bitter pill. When asked about ‘Rocky’s performance his coach, Dave Lovell stated that the defeat was something that rattled him, “It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I take nothing from Belal.”

He further added, “He won. He waited his time [for a title shot] like Leon did, so he made the most of it. Fair play to him, but yeah, it’s a bitter pill for me to swallow for the simple fact of how Leon lost it. The lackluster effort, for whatever reason. We all know that was, what, 30, 35, 40% of Leon Edwards that night. So [it’s] one of them, man.”

A defeat is just a setback, bound to happen in the career of a champion. From this point on, he will either rise or fall. Edwards has decided to push for reclaiming his title after defeating Sean Brady. Well, what is ‘Rocky’s opinion on Belal Muhammad’s first title defense? Let’s have a look at it.

Leon Edwards has a clear favorite for Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena

Shavkat Rakhmonov should have fought Belal Muhammad at UFC 315. However, the undefeated Kazakh was not ready for this clash against the champion due to injuries, and in his place, Jack Della Maddalena was called upon by the UFC to fight at UFC 315 in Bell Centre, Montreal. The Australian fighter was initially pitted against Leon Edwards but his fortune seems to have turned rather quickly. So, who has a better chance to take the belt as per Edwards?

During the same conversation with Helwani, ‘Rocky’ was asked about his winner to which he added, “If I had to put money on it, I’d probably go with JDM. His boxing might shut Belal down, and his scrambles are really good.” Edwards has a point because Jack Della Maddalena is currently riding a 17-fight winning streak and he has yet to concede defeat under the UFC banner. Unlike Belal Muhammad, who has a low finishing ratio, ‘JDM’ has finished 83% of his opponents.

However, despite the statistics ‘Remember The Name’ believes that he will shock everyone at the UFC 315 main event: “I’m gonna go in there, I’m gonna outbox Jack. I’m not gonna shoot one takedown, and I’m gonna show him the meaning of Canelo hands. I’m gonna show the UFC fighters and the fans that I’m the best boxer in the UFC, in the welterweight division. Trust me, you guys wanna tune in, don’t miss it.”

Belal Muhammad did compare his boxing skills to the likes of Canelo Alvarez which was a bit of a stretch for some fans. However, he has a chance to prove it in his clash against ‘JDM.’ What’s your prediction of the UFC 315 main event? Who do you think will emerge victorious in the battle for the welterweight gold? State your opinions in the comments below.