UFC 296 News: Backup Fighter Revealed for Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington

The official backup fighter for the UFC 296 main event has been revealed.

A top welterweight contender will be ready for his first shot at UFC gold in the event that either Leon Edwards or Colby Covington are unable to compete at UFC 296 this weekend.

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The final UFC event of the year is set to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this Saturday, and the stacked card includes two title fights as well as a number of other high-profile matchups.

The night will be headlined by Edwards making the second defense of his welterweight belt against former interim titleholder Covington. Both men are eager to settle things after months of buildup, but if either man has any issues during fight week then Belal Muhammad confirmed to MMA Junkie that he’ll be weighing in as the official backup fighter for the highly-anticipated matchup.

Muhammad (left) will serve as the backup fighter for the UFC 296 main event. 

Currently the #2-ranked UFC welterweight contender, Muhammad is on a tremendous unbeaten run that began with a victory over Curtis Millender in 2019. The 35-year-old’s lone setback during his current stretch was a 2021 bout with Edwards that unfortunately ended in a No Contest due to an eye poke.

“Remember the Name” most recently took a unanimous decision over former title challenger Gilbert Burns at UFC 288 and has been vocal about wanting to finally compete for a UFC title in his next outing.

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Muhammad appears poised to challenge the winner of the UFC 296 main event even if his services as backup fighter aren’t required, but the card also features two other massive bouts for the UFC welterweight division.

Unbeaten talents Ian Machado Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov will try to continue climbing the rankings on Saturday with their matchups against Vicente Luque and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, and an impressive win for either man could set them up for a potential welterweight title shot at some point next year. 

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