Leon Edwards claiming time playing a big factor in his title loss against Belal Muhammad fails to sit well with fans: "He is simply not a champ then"

Leon Edwards has not made an appearance in the octagon since last July when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304, losing the welterweight title in the process. 'Rocky' is set to make his return against Sean Brady at UFC Fight Night 255 this weekend after his original opponent, Jack Della Maddalena, was pulled from the card to face 'Remember the Name' at UFC 315.

The No.1-ranked welterweight recently looked back on his title fight loss. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Edwards was asked how the time affected his performance, to which he responded:

"A lot. I just feel like my reactions were slow. I could think in my head what I wanted to do, what I trained to do, but for some reason my body and my mind just wasn't in sync as it is normally, in normal fights. I walked out at like 5 AM."

Edwards continued:

"It felt like someone woke me up and was like, 'Okay, go fight, you got to go fight' and then I got in there, but like I said, it is what it is. Even though he got the win, it was still a close fight on my worst day. It's like, I think he won three rounds, I won two rounds. Even on my worst day, I was still in the fight and I was still close."

Check out Leon Edwards comments on his UFC 304 clash with Belal Muhammad below:

Fans shared their reactions to Edwards' comments. @BigtoenaiI claimed 'Rocky' is not a real champion:

"He is simply not a champ then. Any time. Any where. Leon was a place holder for the real champ"

@itssleeep believes Edwards never fights with a sense of urgency:

"Bro always fights like it’s 5 am tho 💀 I’ve never seen Leon fight with a sense of urgency period"

@lukeWilko1878 noted that Muhammad had no issues in the wrestling department:

"Or maybe it was Belal picking him up and bouncing him on his head like a basketball"

@SoulsDisciple shared that Edwards acts as if his opponent fought at a different time:

"Bro acting as if belal was fighting at a different time. 💀"

Check out the best fan reactions below:

Fan reactions to Leon Edwards' comments

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Leon Edwards shares prediction for Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena

Leon Edwards recently weighed in on the upcoming welterweight title bout between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, the No.1-ranked welterweight stated:

"If I had to put money on it, I'd probably favor JDM. If I had to put money on it. Yeah, if I had to put money on it. I feel like - I don't know, actually, I don't know. 50/50. I wouldn't put any money on none of them. I don't know."

Check out Leon Edwards' comments on Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena below:

Edwards added that he believes Della Maddalena's boxing will shut Muhammad down, labeling the former as an anti-grappler. He noted that the No.4-ranked welterweight has good scrambles on the ground and predicted that the champion won't be able to hold him down for long.