Belal Muhammad responds to Leon Edwards' "easy fight" comments after 'Rocky' seemingly tried to avoid their matchup

UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad hit back at the champion Leon Edwards after the latter commented dismissively about him.

Edwards completed his second succesful title defense against Colby Covington in the UFC 296 headliner. Fans and experts alike have widely agreed that Muhammad is the obvious choice for the next title shot. Edwards seemingly accepted the challenge and subsequently labelled 'Remember the Name' the least intimidating fighter in the promotion.

He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"lol belal calm down son you’re the least intimidating person in the organisation. I already told UFC I don’t mind I’ll fight you next that’s easy work. You just have to figure out why they hate you so much"

Check out his post below:

Belal Muhammad retorted at Leon Edwards' comment by challenging him to take on the fight promptly if he was not intimidated.

"If I’m least intimidating why you intimidated? You should be jumping at this fight if I’m easy work. You and your coach know I’ll work you ‘Son’ #Unanimous #EveryRound"

Check out his post below:

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Leon Edwards' coach prefers Gilbert Burns over Belal Muhammad for next title defense

Leon Edwards' coach Dave Lovell weighed in on his next opponent for his third title defense.

Lovell spoke to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour and commented about the speculation around Belal Muhammad being baffling due to the lack of an official announcement.

"If it’s Belal, so be it. We’ve had a feel of him already. We know what he’s about. He has improved. If it’s Belal, it’s Belal. Belal would be ready to go, but will Belal and Leon really be a big pay-per-view? You’ve got to look at it from the business point of view."

Lovell agreed that Muhammad had earned his title contention position but stated that he preferred No.4 ranked Gilbert Burns to be Edwards' next opponent. He said:

"Preference? Let’s put it real, Belal’s earned his place hasn’t he? Even though he still hasn’t done what Leon did, go through the tribulations Leon did, but he’s earned himself his contendership. To be honest, if I really had the choice but I don’t think it will happen, I would like Leon to fight [Gilbert] Burns... 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.”

Check out his comments below (2:27:10):