The British welterweight contender showed no signs of ring rust in the early stages of the UFC Fight Night 187 headliner against Belal Muhammad, as his striking looked crisp and he rattled his opponent with a head kick in the opening stanza. However, the action screeched to a halt when Edwards inadvertently poked Muhammad in the eye 18 seconds into Round 2. When Muhammad confirmed he could not continue, the fight was waved off and declared a no contest.
Edwards was understandly disappointed with the result.
“First, I want to apologize to Belal Muhammad. A long, long year for me and I prepped so hard. I wish him well, I wish him a full recovery,” Edwards said on the UFC on ESPN+ post-fight show. “Going into it, I said I didn’t believe in ring rust…I showed it tonight.
“I was just getting into the flow of it. To have that freak accident happen, I’m heartbroken. It’s been a long year and half. To come back to this, it’s upsetting you know?”
Heading into Saturday night, Edwards was perhaps the most unsung contender at 170 pounds, with an eight-bout winning streak that included a decision win over Rafael dos Anjos in his last outing at UFC on ESPN 4. Then, the bad luck began. A headlining bout vs. Tyron Woodley on home soil was scrapped at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, and then multiple bookings with Khamzat Chimaev fell through as both fighters had their own battles with COVID-19. The fight ending foul against Muhammad is just the latest in a string of unfortunate incidents.
“It’s heartbreaking. It’s been a long, long year and half,” he said. “A lot of ups and downs — none of these top guys accepting the fight. Belal Muhammad stepped up and accepted the fight. I give him respect for that. I have so much I learned for the last year and a half that I wanted to show.
“I was going into the fight with the mentality of wanting to fight for the belt next,” he continued. “So now what’s next? What do I do now? Is it a rematch, is it someone else? I feel like I deserve a title shot. That’s nine fights in a row. I’ve fought everyone they give me.”
At the moment, it appears that Kamaru Usman will defend his 170-pound belt in a rematch against Jorge Masvidal sometime later this year. Although a no contest isn’t the result Edwards wanted in his first Octagon appearance in more than 600 days, he doesn’t have any qualms about doubling down on his request for a shot at UFC gold. He believes his dues have been paid.
“I’ve worked my way back up from getting defeated by Kamaru Usman. I’ve fought everybody, I’ve offered to fight everybody, so I feel I deserve a title shot now,” he said. “Why should I do 10 fights to get a title shot, you know? I believe I deserve a title shot next.”