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Leon Edwards has vowed to avenge his defeat by Belal Muhammad, after losing the welterweight title at UFC 304 on Saturday.
Britain’s Edwards lost to Muhammad via unanimous decision in Manchester, three years after fighting the Palestinian-American to a No Contest – when Edwards accidentally landed an eye poke.
Saturday’s loss marked the end of Edwards’s title reign, which began with a stunning knockout of Kamaru Usman in 2022, and UFC president Dana White has hinted that Edwards will not get an instant rematch against Muhammad.
However, Jamaican-born Edwards has vowed to avenge the loss down the line.
“To my fans, I’m sorry I couldn’t get the job done this time,” he wrote on Instagram on Monday (29 July).
“I have been through harder times than this in life and I will rise again. Thanks for all the love and support. I will get this back in blood. #headshot.”
In his post-fight interview in the cage on Saturday (27 July), Edwards said: “I’m not surprised [I lost]. My body just felt tired from round one, all week I’ve been feeling just tired from the timing.
“But I want to say congrats to Belal, he got the job done. And we’ll get it back again. I’d like to get one more fight in this year. Whenever the UFC want – November or December, I’m ready to go. One more this year, I’m ready to go.”
Edwards’s mention of ‘timing’ was a reference to the overnight scheduling of UFC 304. The southpaw’s fight with Muhammad began at around 5.30am BST on Sunday (28 July).
With his loss to Muhammad, 36, Edwards’s win streak came to an end after 12 victories in nine years. After dethroning Usman in 2022, the 32-year-old retained the title against the Nigerian-American and Colby Covington in 2023. He won both fights via decision.
Meanwhile, UFC 304 saw Muhammad extend his own win streak to 10 fights across five years.
