With a satisfying victory over Colby Covington in the rear view, Leon Edwards had designs on fitting three title fights into 2024.
The UFC welterweight champion was confident enough that he told 41,000 people at Villa Park, just weeks removed from his decision victory that capped the promotion’s 2023 calendar, in native Birmingham, England that he would defend his belt at UFC 300 in April.
The landmark event came and went, with Edwards sidelined until this Saturday when he headlines UFC 304 in Manchester for his second consecutive July as the star attraction in his home country.
“I was aiming to have at least three title fights this year,” Edwards told The Post during a recent video call. “April would have been perfect. We [were] pushing hard with the UFC to get UFC 300 done, but I was sad we couldn’t get it done.
“And obviously, they mentioned that they’re coming back to the U.K. in Manchester in July, and I was like, ‘OK, perfect.’ I was waiting for that, to headline a second hometown show in my country.”
But Edwards (22-3, 10 finishes) wasn’t simply passed over for UFC 300, which had been without an announced headliner far longer than fans anticipated before settling on Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill for the light heavyweight title.
Edwards, his manager Tim Simpson, and UFC CEO Dana White all acknowledged that the 170-pound king was offered three opponents — Simpson in the spring confirmed them to be welterweight standout Shavkat Rakhmonov, ex-170er turned 185er Khamzat Chimaev and lightweight champ Islam Makhachev — and accepted bouts against each one, although none came to fruition.
Conspicuously missing was the man most expected would be next for Edwards: Belal Muhammad, who is his scheduled opponent for Saturday’s pay-per-view main event at Co-op Live.
“I said his name to the UFC. I actually said to the UFC: ‘What about Belal?’ They said he’s not a big enough name to headline UFC 300,” Edwards said, laughing through his recollection of the UFC’s response. “And I was like, fair enough. That’s the reason why we’re here now in Manchester.”
Edwards couldn’t help but agree.
“I feel like he’s definitely not a big enough star to headline 300,” he says. “But for me, I wanted to fight, and I was like, ‘OK, what about this guy [Muhammad] talking loads of s–t, and everyone thinks he deserves a title shot. Why not get him?’ But like I said, UFC wasn’t on it.”
Thus, the delay to July for Edwards’ return, almost definitely limiting him to two championship fights at most this year if he succeeds against Muhammad (23-3, six finishes) in a rematch of a March 2021 clash that ended in a no-contest.
As the headliner of an event at the UFC Apex that night, Edwards had gotten off to a solid start and won the first round behind a 17-8 advantage in significant strikes landed.
But an incidental eye poke by Edwards — who would not become champion until his thrilling fifth-round head kick dethroned Kamaru Usman the following August — prevented Muhammad from being able to continue.
“Everyone’s seen the way the first round went,” said Edwards when prompted about how useful the first meeting was for preparing for the second. “… I also remember how slow he was in there and just how he felt in the clinch. I can’t take away from that.
“Apart from that, technical-wise, I’m approaching it as a brand new fight and breaking it down and looking at the Belal now, the 36-year-old guy he is now that hasn’t fought for over a year now.”
Edwards acknowledged that Muhammad, who has won five in a row in the interim but has bided his time since a five-round decision victory over one-time title challenger Gilbert Burns, has grown since their original fight.
“He’s definitely improved since then,” Edwards conceded. “But I feel like I’m just the better all-around mixed martial artist than him. I’m more athletic than him.”
In an odd scheduling quirk, UFC 304 will be staged at the typical 10 p.m. ET start time despite taking place in the United Kingdom, meaning Edwards and Muhammad aren’t likely to fight until 5 a.m. local time at the earliest.
It’s a decision interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who will defend his title against Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event, has been vocal in opposing, and Edwards admitted his first reaction to learning the timing was, “What the f–k?”
But Edwards happens to be a veteran of this scenario, having competed eight years ago in Manchester when UFC 204 also went off at an ungodly hour for the Brits.
Everything worked out OK for Edwards that night — well, that morning, at about 1:30 a.m. at Manchester Arena — as won by third-round submission.
That experience, plus ensuring this time he takes all the necessary steps to acclimate to the odd time to clock into work, will serve the champion well, he believes.
“I’m kind of used to it now. I’ve been training late, late at night for however long, and my body is used to it,” Edwards explained. “I always feel like, if you’re the best in the world, you should be the best in the world at 5 in the morning.”