UFC 304 headliner Leon Edwards is on a 13-fight unbeaten streak, but that run does boast one blemish in the form of a No Contest against upcoming opponent Belal Muhammad.
Edwards is set to main event this weekend’s pay-per-view card at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England, where he’ll put the UFC’s welterweight championship on the line against a familiar foe in Muhammad.
The pair first collided in a UFC Fight Night headliner back in 2021, with Muhammad filling in for Khamzat Chimaev on a few weeks’ notice. After finding some early success, Edwards inadvertently poked “Remember the Name” in the eye 18 seconds into round two, rendering him unable to continue.
Both men have since experienced nothing but victory inside the Octagon, with “Rocky” winning the 170-pound gold and successfully defending it twice at the expense of Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. Muhammad, meanwhile, has won five straight over Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, and Gilbert Burns.
That run has earned “Remember the Name” his long-awaited first title opportunity and, in the process, a second shot at handing “Rocky” his first defeat since 2015.
Ahead of Saturday’s event, the promotion has released the full Edwards vs. Muhammad fight from UFC Vegas 21 on its official YouTube channel.
Given the success he had early on when they first shared the cage, many are expecting Edwards to finish the job second time around. Others, however, have highlighted Muhammad’s evolution as a fighter to dismiss the 2021 bout as a relevant guide to how the UFC 304 main event might play out.
We’ll find out on July 27 which camp is correct with their assessment.
