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‘Close fight on my worst day’ ... Leon Edwards relives UFC title loss at ungodly hour

Leon Edwards' coach says "Rocky" was at 30-40% fighting Belal Muhammad at 5AM.

Christopher De Santiago

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Unbeaten for nearly a decade, Leon Edwards revisits what went wrong his last time out against Belal Muhammad.

Prior to UFC 304 last summer, former UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards hadn't lost since his first fight against Kamaru Usman in 2015. Edwards was riding the momentum of a 13-fight unbeaten streak before he met his match in Belal Muhammad, who had an eerily similar rise to the top.

It was a home game in London for Birmingham's Edwards, looking to come into his own as the welterweight champion in his third title defense.

However, it wasn't the "Rocky" we were used to seeing, as Muhammad shut him down with nine takedowns, outboxing him at times with the takedown threat prevalent. Muhammad survived a late scare from Edwards in the fifth round to win the title by unanimous decision.

This all happened in the early morning hours of 5-6AM local time, with the UFC not catering to the fighters nor the fans in London, starting the pay-per-view main card at 3AM.

READ MORE: Leon Edwards predicts Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315

Former UFC Champion Leon Edwards.
Former UFC Champion Leon Edwards. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Leon Edwards Says Last Performance Impacted By Fight Time

On The Ariel Helwani Show, Edwards' head coach Dave Lovell claimed Edwards was 30-40% of the championship fighter he actually is in his last showing at UFC 304.

In his own interview with Helwani, Edwards was asked how much the super-late start time for the main event impacted his performance against Muhammad.

"A lot," Edwards said of fighting at 5AM. "I just feel like my reactions was slow. I could think in my head like what I wanted to do, what I trained to do, but for some reason my body and my mind just wasn't in sync as it is normally in normal fights and competing."

"I feel like I walked out like 5AM," Edwards continued.

Edwards Says He Won 2 Rounds On 'My Worst Day'

Feeling as though his mind and body were out of sync for the five rounds, Edwards still found moments of success against Muhammad, namely in Round 3 and Round 5, where he almost found another comeback finish like the one he had against Kamaru Usman to win the title at UFC 278.

"Even though he got the win, it was still a close fight on my worst day," Edwards added. "I think he won, he won three rounds, I won two rounds. And even on my worst day, I was still in the fight, I was still close."

Leon Edwards will look to show UFC 304 was an off-night (or should we say off-morning) at UFC London this weekend when he takes on #5 welterweight contender Sean Brady in a five-round main event.

READ MORE: 'Death of my dreams' ... UFC savage mourns career after shock retirement

And no, Edwards won't be walking out to the Octagon at 5AM again.

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Christopher De Santiago
CHRISTOPHER DE SANTIAGO

Christopher De Santiago is a 23-year-old journalist from Gainesville, Texas with years of experience covering MMA. He is the founder of MMA Island and started working for MMA Knockout in February, 2024. Inquiries: chrisdesantiago17@gmail.com

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