Leon Edwards discusses tense elevator encounter with Belal Muhammad: "He was so awkward in the corner"

Leon Edwards recently discussed his tense elevator encounter with Belal Muhammad, which saw both competitors have a brief exchange after leaving. The welterweights are scheduled to headline UFC 304 this Saturday, so that explains why their encounter was so tense.

The reigning welterweight champion will attempt to successfully retain his title for the third time when he takes on Muhammad in a rematch of their 2021 encounter, which ended in a no-contest. 'Rocky' and 'Remember The Name's elevator encounter was caught on camera as the promotion documents the build-up to this Saturday's pay-per-view.

While speaking to Daniel Cormier for an interview on his YouTube channel, the Englishman stated that he doesn't have any animosity with 'Remember The Name', however, the same can't be said for the challenger. Edwards mentioned that there was a back-and-forth exchange between his coach and Muhammad and noted that his demeanor was different once he left the elevator. He said:

"For me, it's all like, banter and whatever...For [Muhammad], he's just like, 'I hate your team, I hate your brother'...I was just like, laughing [in the elevator]...He was so awkward in the corner. Just like in the corner by himself, like awkward...So we were sort of like bantering and laughing. He was quiet in that f****** elevator. Soon as the door opened though and security was outside, he was like, 'Yeah, you guys are p****, man'." [6:27 - 6:58]

Check out Daniel Cormier's full interview with Leon Edwards below:

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Leon Edwards doesn't believe Belal Muhammad will showcase anything different from first bout

Leon Edwards believes he is a much better fighter than Belal Muhammad and recently stated that he doesn't believe the challenger will showcase anything different than what he already saw in their first encounter.

During the aforementioned interview, the reigning UFC welterweight champion mentioned that he notices the same patterns and tendencies in 'Remember The Name's bouts and isn't too concerned about what threats he could possibly pose. Edwards said:

"You watch me and [Muhammad] and just skill for skill and just he still makes the same mistakes that he made before even though he has improved, his patterns is similar, same patterns. I don't feel like he can get any more faster than what he is already. I can't see his feet getting any more quicker than what he is already. He won't get any stronger than what he is already. He's still short, his range is still limited." [8:55 - 9:20]

Check out Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad's faceoff below: