UFC champ Belal Muhammad: Leon Edwards has no chance to leapfrog Shavkat Rakhmonov

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad isn’t expecting to rematch Leon Edwards anytime soon.

Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) dethroned Edwards to become champion at UFC 304 and is scheduled to make his first title defense against Jack Della Maddalena in the UFC 315 headliner in Montreal.

Meanwhile, Edwards (22-4 MMA, 14-3 UFC) will look to rebound when he meets Sean Brady in the UFC Fight Night 255 headliner March 22 in London. Edwards claimed that the UFC dubbed his fight with Brady as a No. 1 contender bout, which Muhammad scoffed at.

“I don’t know what Leon is thinking,” Muhammad said on the “Believe You Me” podcast. “Leon, you have a full three years before you can even think about getting a rematch. It’s going to be a long three years of fighting contenders for Leon. I would make him wait.

“I have the next guy in line anyway. I think it’s Shavkat. There’s nothing I don’t think he can do to skip Shavkat. I wouldn’t allow that to even happen with Leon. Yeah, he can go out there and throw a cartwheel kick, spinning backfist, and then I’m still going to put, ‘Lol, he still sucks.'”

Muhammad was scheduled to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310, but withdrew after suffering a bone infection in his foot. Rakhmonov remained on the card and defeated Ian Machado Garry in a five-round fight. But when Rakhmonov couldn’t make UFC 315 due to injury, Muhammad was booked against Della Maddalena instead.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.