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Belal Muhammad had a short reaction to Leon Edwards' coach revealing that 'Rocky' entered UFC 304 with a slight back injury.
On July 27, Muhammad made his dreams come true by dethroning Edwards of his welterweight title in the UFC 304 main event. 'Remember the Name' utilized his strengths and out-grappled Edwards for the majority of the five-round contest before getting his hand raised by unanimous decision (48-47 x2 and 49-46).
Following the welterweight world title bout, Edwards' coach, Dave Lovell, joined Submission Radio to discuss the loss. MMA Fighting transcribed the below quote of Lovell claiming 'Rocky' suffered a back injury while preparing for UFC 304:
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"A lot of people don't know this, and I'm not making any kind of excuses for him, but we had a few niggles in camp. His back was niggling him, so he couldn't wrestle the way he needed to, offensively and defensively, because of the niggle that recurred maybe two or three times. But not taking nothing away from Belal [Muhammad's performance. He did well. The best man won the night and Leon will be back."
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Belal Muhammad wasn't overly excited about Lovell potentially taking away from his impressive performance. The new UFC welterweight king responded to the quote by saying this in MMA Fighting's Instagram comment section:
"Smell that 👃👃"
What's next for Belal Muhammad in the UFC?
Belal Muhammad worked his entire life to become a UFC champion and now it's time for the massive target to be on his back. During his UFC 304, post-fight press conference, Muhammad mentioned several top welterweight contenders, including number three-ranked Shavkat Rakhmonov and number seven-ranked Ian Garry.
Muhammad's first title defense is expected to be against Rakhmonov, potentially later this year. The 29-year-old Kazakh holds a professional MMA record of 18-0, all finishes, with six wins under the UFC banner. He's also been seen as a potential welterweight title contender since his promotional debut in October 2020.
'Nomad' last fought in December 2023, defeating Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson by second-round submission. The two contenders above Rakhmonov, Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman, are coming off losses, increasing his odds of facing Muhammad next.
Watch Rakhmonov submit Thompson at UFC 296 below:
