The former welterweight champion believes that he has unfinished business to attend to in the near future.
Leon Edwards is no stranger to bouncing back from adversity having done that multiple times throughout his UFC career.
On his return to the Octagon on March 22, Edwards will look to address what went wrong in his loss to Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC 304.
‘Rocky’ faces Sean Brady at the O2 Arena in London and whilst this is a huge fight for his career, the Brit is determined to get his revenge later on down the line.
Edwards may get the chance to face Muhammad for a third time and his first meeting with the current champion should give him confidence even if their rematch didn’t go to plan.
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Leon Edwards dominated the first round of his first fight with Belal Muhammad
After beating Rafael dos Anjos in July of 2019, Leon Edwards went through some difficult moments in the UFC with several cancelled fights and a long layoff.
His scheduled return against Khamzat Chimaev was cancelled for a third time ahead of March 13 but on this occasion, the MMA leader booked a replacement for ‘Rocky’.
Belal Muhammad stepped in on late notice off the back of a four-fight win streak having beaten Dhiego Lima the previous month.
With Muhammad at #13 in the rankings, he had a big opportunity to prove himself against the #3-ranked contender in the welterweight division.
Fight fans have come to expect a very measured and calculated approach from Edwards which plays into his well-round skillset and accurate striking.
Whilst that was on show against Muhammad, he was far more aggressive than usual, landing 17 significant strikes in the opening round compared to his opponent’s 8.
‘Rocky’ also landed a big head kick that appeared to wobble Muhammad with Edwards turning up the pace to try and get his man out of there.
He convincingly won the round and whilst the second ended just 18 seconds in following an eye poke, it appeared that ‘Remember The Name’ was going to need to turn the fight on its head in order to change the direction that it was heading in.
Not to mention that Muhammad didn’t once attempt a takedown in the fight having secured 9 in their rematch over five rounds.
Leon Edwards can take lessons from this
No fight is going to be exactly the same and whilst Leon Edwards has his reasons for his performance at UFC 304, Belal Muhammad also deserves credit for making some big improvements in recent years.
That being said, when you look at what Edwards did well in their first meeting, it’s clear that this was missing from the rematch.
‘Rocky’ wasn’t able to control the Octagon and push his opponent back which allowed Muhammad to fight at his pace and consistently shoot for takedowns.
We may have only seen one full round between them back in 2021 but it’s clear that if Edwards is going to avenge his loss, it needs to look something like that.