Belal Muhammad thinks Colby Covington will be done fighting if he loses to UFC welterweight champ Leon Edwards.
Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) challenges Edwards (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in the UFC 296 main event on Dec. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) echoes the same sentiment as veteran Matt Brown, who told MMA Fighting that he has a hard time believing Covington will continue his career if he loses to Edwards.
“One hundred percent, he’s not a guy that’s going to fight contenders,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “You’ve seen it. The UFC’s literally given him older guys on their way out in every single one of his fights just so he can get a win, then given him a title fight. Like there’s no more older guys in the division for him to fight if he loses to Leon. There’s no more older guys in the division on their way out.
“Maybe they’ll throw him Tony Ferguson if Tony Ferguson stays at 170, but I doubt it. This will be the third title shot that he’s going to lose and like Matt Brown said, he’s not a fighter. He’s a guy that loves to build up, loves to be fake, loves to have the people cheer him or boo him. But if he loses this one, all his loser fans, fake fans, they’re all going to realize this dude does really suck.”
Although Muhammad admits the build-up to a fight with Covington would be more entertaining than Edwards, he’d rather complete his unfinished business with Edwards. Muhammad’s only asterisk in his recent 10-fight unbeaten run came against Edwards in 2021 when he was accidentally poked in the eye early in Round 2 and rendered unable to continue.
If his prediction comes to fruition, he may just get what he wants.
“I think Colby’s going to come out throwing his wild, random strikes, literally his terrible technique,” Muhammad said. “I think Leon’s going to move around, throw some good high kicks, body kicks, low kicks. Colby’s going to take a couple of terrible shots, and he’s going to realize he can’t take Leon down.
“Leon probably will get taken down in the first round, second round. Then once it gets later to the third or fourth round, I think he’s going to start feeling the kicks from Leon, his body is going to start hurting, and I think Leon’s going to get the finish in the fourth round.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
