Leon Edwards claims he offered to step in and fight Belal Muhammad in title rematch at UFC 315
Former undisputed welterweight champion, Leon Edwards has revealed he offered to step-in and take on former-foe, Belal Muhammad in an immediate title rematch at UFC 315 in May, ultimately to no avail, with the promotion reluctant to remove him from UFC London this month.
Edwards, the current number one ranked welterweight contender, has been sidelined last July where he headlined UFC 304 in a title rematch with Muhammad in Manchester.
And dropping a one-sided unanimous decision loss against Illinois native, Muhammad in their title rematch in the UK, Edwards has been booked to return at UFC London later this month.
Seeing his own main event clash with Jack Della Maddalena shelved, Edwards will now share the Octagon with Philadelphia grappler, Sean Brady — with the former now taking on Muhammad in May.
Leon Edwards claims he offered to headline UFC 315 in reworked clash
However, according to Edwards, he initially offered to take on Muhammad in a trilogy clash in the main event of UFC 315 in a trip to Canada, which was ultimately turned down by the promotion.
“I heard about my replacement fight probably a couple of weeks before,” Leon Edwards said on his YouTube channel. I was in talks with the UFC. I was trying to step in to fight Belal (Muhammad), but I know that they sold London around me, so it was difficult to take me off the card and leave Jack (Della Maddalena) on the card, because it would be weird to let Jack headline London.
“I got a new opponent, Sean Brady. It’s a style that I’m used to, a style that I’m comfortable fighting,” Leon Edwards explained. Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”
And Birmingham native, Edwards also claimed the organization informed him that the victor of his fight with Brady later this month will compete for the welterweight championship in their next Octagon walk.
“If Belal beats him, then, like I said, the rematch is there for me as well,” Edwards continued. “I spoke to the UFC. They told me that after this win, this is no more a contender fight. Whoever wins this fight for the title, well, when I win this fight, I fight for the title. That is my aim. My aim is to get back that two-time world championship and the result of the fight with me and Belal.”
