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UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards will defend the title against former UFC Interim Welterweight Champion Colby Covington in the main event of UFC 296.
Just in case one of the main event fighters can’t make it to the Octagon on Saturday Night, Belal Muhammad says he will be stepping up on short notice at the back up fighter for the welterweight title fight.
“They just hit me up Friday, asked me if I’m willing to weigh in for next week,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “I think obviously they know Colby and Leon are the two most inactive welterweights in the division. Neither of these guys likes to fight. They’re both good at running. So just to be on the safe side, they called the dude that always steps up whenever needed.”
Muhammad did fight Edwards once before, but that fight ended in a no contest due to an accidental eye poke, Muhammad has never stepped into the Octagon against Covington.
The fighter says that a past short notice opportunity against Gilbert Burns has helped him prepare for another potential short notice opportunity like the one he could experience at UFC 296.
“For me, I was training this whole time regardless just in case something happened. The last two main events on the pay-per-views both got canceled, but since my last fight with Gilbert Burns, I took that one on short notice and I was like, ‘I never want to get out of shape like this again.’ Because I was so bad before that fight and it was the hardest fight cut ever. So I knew I had to be a professional from then on. Never getting big like that again,” says Muhammad.
