Leon Edwards is eager to run things back with UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.
After losing his title to Muhammad at UFC 304, Edwards (21-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) will look to rebound against Jack Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) on March 22 in the UFC Fight Night 255 headliner from The O2 in London (ESPN+).
With a win over the streaking Della Maddalena, Edwards thinks he can jump right back into the title picture.
“I feel like after beating Jack, definitely,” Edwards told Link Up TV of getting a title shot. “I think he’s ranked (No.) 5 or 4 in the world. In the welterweight division, as well, there aren’t many people right now that are barking for a title shot.
“I think Belal is fighting Shavkat (Rakhmonov) hopefully in April or May. After that, there’s nobody else for the title apart from me. So if I go out there March 22, put on a great performance, I can’t see why not.”
With his fight against Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) taking place in the middle of the night to cater to U.S. pay-per-view time, Edwards says he wasn’t able to perform effectively. If he gets an opportunity to rematch Muhammad, he hopes it takes place at a normal timing.
“Not fight at 5 o’clock in the morning,” Edwards said on what he’d do differently against Muhammad. “I feel like that affected my performance. I didn’t feel myself. … The sleep thing, the late hours, that made a big difference to me in that fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 255.
