Leon Edwards is set to save the London event that Dana White organized. But this was not an easy affair as the 28-year-old Jack Della Maddalena canceled his fight with Edwards and decided to fight ‘Rocky’s past opponent, Belal Muhammad, at UFC 315 instead. Further, Muhammad did not stop himself from taking a jibe at Edwards and said on X, “Dang, I stole Leon’s belt and his opponent.” Wait, wait, there’s more…

On top of that, the Aussie star said that it was an ‘easy decision’ to cancel his fight with Edwards. Seems like two fighters are grouping up against the Welterweight star. However, according to Edwards, he already has a promise from Dana White that puts him in a better position.

He recently revealed the same while speaking to the press during his fight camp going into UFC Fight Night 255 against his new opponent, Sean Brady. He said, “I was trying to step in and fight Belal, but I know they sold London around me, so it was difficult to take me off the card and leave Jack in the card ’cause it would be weird to let Jack headline London.” Since Edwards is a big name in London and has many fans there, it was natural to make the fight card around him.

He calmly continued to speak about his next goals and said, “I got a new opponent, Sean Brady, he is a style that I am used to. So I am comfortable fighting. Yes, I look forward to it, should be good. Also, we just keep conditioning today, really a couple of rounds of tabs, and then that’s about right, I think.”

‘Rocky’ mentioned that he would like to get a rematch against ‘Remember the Name’ albeit at a proper time and not at the crack of dawn, but other than that, UFC made him another lucrative promise. He said, “I talked to the UFC they told me that, after this win, this is no longer a Contender fight. When I win this, I’ll fight for the title. That is my aim. My aim is to get back that two-time World Championship.”

So Edwards will not really lose out on anything even if Della Maddalena cancels his fight with Edwards. The fight against Brady will be a crucial test for Edwards as he is trying to get back his belt. Fighting in his hometown at the O2 Arena does give him a huge advantage and support from his fans. A victory can put him back in the title conversation. On the other hand, a win for Brady will get him a championship opportunity. But what about Belal Muhammad? How is he holding up in his fight against Della Maddalena?

Belal Muhammad gets a warning

After a long hiatus and rest, welterweight champion Belal Muhammad will finally return to defend his title against Australian sensation Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315. ‘Bully B’ has not fought for 7 whole months and last dethroned Edwards at UFC 304. He was supposed to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in November, but due to a bone infection, he had to withdraw from the bout.

Naturally, this withdrawal came with its own jibes from fans and even fighters. Conor McGregor was one of them who labeled him an “infected fighter.” ‘Remember The Name’ later revealed the infection, which posed a serious threat to his health, to be so severe that it could have led to “amputation” if left untreated.

Now he is finally coming back to defend his title at UFC 315 but former welterweight king Kamaru Usman is a little worried for him. He never faced Jack Della Maddalena, but during a discussion in Pound for Pound, he had a lot of praise for the Aussie star.

He remarked: “JDM is a sleeper. I’ve seen him fight, and one thing about him is he’s so relaxed that it’s very hard to beat him… There are some guys you can take down 50 million times, and they’re still going to keep trying to get up.” JDM’s style does indeed end the fights with a TKO or submission finish that makes him win. So, will Muhammad be able to defend his title? Share your opinion below.