UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has shared his prediction for the upcoming fight between Leon Edwards and Sean Brady at UFC London.
Leon Edwards is set to face Sean Brady at UFC London, but his former rival, Muhammad, has some strong opinions on how the fight will unfold.
“This guy’s full of excuses—that’s why Brady will beat him. I predict that once Brady takes him down two or three times, he’ll find a submission because Leon’s weak mentally, and he’ll have flashbacks of what I did to him,” Muhammad wrote on X.
Edwards, reflecting on his past fight against Muhammad at UFC 304, admitted that he underestimated him and was dealing with injuries.
“Going into the fight, there were injuries. The thing that made the most difference was the timing—fighting at 5 a.m. I just thought, ‘It’s Belal (laughs). I can beat Belal,’” Edwards said.
Muhammad, who has fought both Sean Brady and Leon Edwards, believes that Brady’s wrestling will be too much for Edwards to handle. He also questioned Edwards’ mentality after the latter cited the late-night fight schedule as a factor in his performance.
Edwards had not suffered a defeat in nearly a decade before his loss to Muhammad last July—a loss that cost him the UFC welterweight title.
While he has come to terms with the outcome, Edwards admits that the loss still lingers.
“I kind of let this loss sit with me for a little bit, just to process the fact that I actually lost,” Edwards told MMA Fighting. “Then from there, I was able to regroup. Even though it was a loss, it was still a close fight, right? He won three rounds; I won two rounds on the scorecards—on my worst night. So it’s easier to put it behind me, knowing that I wasn’t fully myself in there.
“Obviously, a loss hurts, and it’s upsetting, but now I’m at a stage where it is what it is. I believe I am the best welterweight in the division. I’ve just got to go out there on Saturday night, prove it, and put all my wrongs right. It starts Saturday night.”
After taking some time off to train and prepare, Edwards is now ready to get back in the cage. In response to Muhammad’s comments, he simply laughed it off and maintained a professional stance.
“He’s just an annoying human being,” Edwards said with a laugh. “Just the way he looks and the way he talks—he’s just annoying. That’s all it really was. There was nothing personal. He’s just a weird guy.”
Despite being disappointed about losing his title and his performance in the fight, Edwards remains hopeful that a win against Sean Brady could earn him another shot at reclaiming the championship.
“Because it was Belal, it was worse—but like I said, a loss is a loss,” Edwards admitted. “It could have been anyone, to be honest. It doesn’t really matter who it was. I feel like I’m much better than I was in my last fight, and that’s all that matters.
“I hate to lose, and my record proves that. It is what it is. Right now, I’m just focused on the next chapter.”
