Belal Muhammad accusing Leon Edwards of "showing fear" triggers divided fan reactions - "Literally the Jake Paul of MMA" 

Belal Muhammad recently sounded off on UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards for dismissing the idea of facing him in his next title defense.

Last weekend, Edwards comfortably defeated Colby Covington via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 296 to secure his second successful title defense. Before the Edwards-Covington fight was announced, many believed Muhammad would be the one challenging 'Rocky' for the 170-pound strap, especially after dispatching Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision at UFC 288.

Unfortunately for him, the UFC decided to give 'Chaos' the title shot. Unsurprisingly, Belal Muhammad wasn't too pleased to be overlooked in favor of Covington. After Leon Edwards defeated the former interim welterweight champion, the Englishman appeared uninterested in facing Muhammad in a title rematch and spoke about exploring other options.

'Remember The Name' responded to Edwards' comments by slamming the Englishman on social media. Clarifying that he had Dana White's word, Muhammad wrote:

"Leon’s opinion doesn’t matter.. his coach doesn’t matter ..the only person I care about is Dana and he gave me his word.. that’s all that matters … we’re next and the fact that they’re showing fear only gives me more confidence ..you should be afraid."

Fans had mixed reactions to the Chicago native's post and flocked to the comments section to express their thoughts.

One fan jokingly wrote:

"You are literally the Jake Paul of MMA."

Another fan wrote:

"It's not fear, bro, it's like disinterest."

Check out some more reactions below:

Screenshots from @bullyb170 on X

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Leon Edwards next fight: Coach Dave Lovell prefers Gilbert Burns over Belal Muhammad for 'Rocky's next outing

Leon Edwards isn't the only one who wants to explore options other than Belal Muhammad for his next title defense. The Englishman's head coach and trainer, Dave Lovell, recently stated that he would like his star pupil to fight Gilbert Burns next instead of Muhammad.

'Remember The Name' and 'Rocky' went up against each other for the first time at UFC Vegas 21 in March 2021. Unfortunately, the fight ended in a no-contest after the first round, after Muhammad was unable to continue due to an accidental eye poke.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Lovell discussed a potential title rematch between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad. Calling for a fight against Gilbert Burns instead, he said:

"But if I had a choice who would be next, I would prefer Burns over Belal, because I think Burns brings more to the table than Belal... If I had I choice, overall, I would like Burns, but we’ll take whoever they throw at us."