It’ll be in enemy territory and happen overnight, but Belal Muhammad is just eager to get his hands on UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.
Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) rematches Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) in the UFC 304 main event July 27 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
The prelims for the pay-per-view event will start at 11 p.m. BST (6 p.m. ET) and the main card at 3 a.m. BST (10 p.m. ET) on ESPN+ pay-per-view, following the traditional start times for U.S. pay-per-views. Muhammad will make the walk against Edwards at around 5 a.m. local time.
The inconvenience only adds more to Muhammad’s story in which he’s had to exercise a ton of patience to finally get his title shot.
“For me honestly, I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole career,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “I’ve been waiting for this moment since the first Leon fight, just to punch him in his face. Whether it’s 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 8 p.m. – the anger and the fuel that’s inside of me, it doesn’t really matter. I’ll be awake for that. I’ll be awake to frigging punch him in his mouth.
“(People ask), ‘Are you thinking about jet lag? Are you thinking about this?’ I don’t really care about any of that because the adrenaline that’s running through my veins is going to be ready for that night no matter what.”
Muhammad has reached a point where he hates Edwards. Although he’ll be fighting in Edwards’ home country of the U.K., Muhammad doesn’t see himself entering hostile territory.
“I hope his coach shows up at the press conference because I’d rather talk to him or his brother, because Leon’s not really going to bring anything to it,” Muhammad said. “People think I’m going into enemy territory, but bro, Manchester’s full of Muslims. I think it’s going to be a huge, pro-Bully B crowd, and I think there’s going to be more fans there for me than for him.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.
