Does welterweight have no big stars left? That is what Leon Edwards thinks at least.  Leon Edwards is set to fight Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 and has bigger ambitions for the future. He had previously decided that he wanted to be a two-division champion. He also opened up about fighting Islam Makhachev, who also keeps a similar goal of being a two-division champion in UFC. With the victory over Colby Covington in the rearview, Edwards has plans on fighting three times in 2024. The UFC welterweight champ was confident enough to tell 41,000 people in Birmingham that he would be fighting at UFC 300. However, the event did not see this come true, for lack of a big-name opponent, with Edwards getting sidelined for UFC 304.

Now that he is getting his match, a UFC insider recently picked up on what ‘Rocky’ had told about the welterweight division. He decided to give his own two cents about the fighter’s comment.

UFC insider talks about Leon Edwards’ opinion on welterweight

The Brighton-based fighter is going to take his third title defense on Saturday at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester against Muhammad. If he is successful in this match, it will mean that he has defeated three of the top four contenders in the welterweight division. And while ‘Rocky’ mentioned that he is not underestimating Muhammad who has an impressive undefeated streak of 170 lbs, Edwards is not confident whether the division can give him substantial ‘money fights’. He thinks that a possible move to middleweight or a match with Islam Makhachev might give him that opportunity. Chael Sonnen was not impressed with this statement and commented on the same on his YouTube channel.

He started by saying, “Leon made a comment and said that there are no stars at welterweight.” He also suggested that Shavkat Rakhmonov or Ian Garry with their perfect records, could build a fight but suggested that Edwards was acting as though these possibilities did not exist.

He also said, “However, Leon goes into the same category. Leon is not a star. Leon is not a must-see TV. And I am just telling you that’s changing. That changed so drastically from December last year’s press conference with Colby to the fight with Colby. It changed so drastically a rumor that he was going to headline 300. Dana is going to take the biggest fight he can make. He is going to make the sport’s two biggest stars and he is gonna put them in 300. “

Sonnen put the ball in Edwards’ court by saying that the UFC 300 rumor favored him in a way because it hyped him up to the fans. Now that he is saying that the welterweight division does not have any stars, he might be wrong if he wins this fight against Muhammad.

Edwards had declared via The Post, “I was aiming to have at least three title fights this year.” He added,  “April would have been perfect. We [were] pushing hard with the UFC to get UFC 300 done, but I was sad we couldn’t get it done.” However, now he is getting another chance to headline in his hometown and this title fight is going to prove if the Welterweight division has any stars left or not. ‘Rocky’ even has a game plan ready for that rematch.

Leon Edwards reveals his plan for Belal Muhammad

According to ‘Remember the Name’,  Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the best fighters that this sport has seen and training under him is going to give him an upper hand over his opponent. “To be able to talk to the Michael Jordan of your sport anytime is incredible,” said Muhammad. 

Edwards has won most fights by decision just like Muhammad and the last fight that they had together was a no-contest because Edwards accidentally poked his opponent in the eye and the referee immediately stopped the match. However, this time he is determined to win since he’s getting another chance to perform in his hometown. During the press conference he commented about Muhammad and said,” It’s fate, “He’s too slow anyway. Now he is angry and tense. He’s gonna fall into traps.”

He said that his opponent was slow and the range was too short so he would be knocked out. For Muhammad that win means a seat at the high ranks but for Edwards, this seems like a normal bout. Edwards set this himself and declared that he was chasing Georges Saint-Pierre‘s record and considered this fight just as any other fight and not so important.

Do you think Leon Edwards will win this bout? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.