"I was ready to riot" - UFC analyst Laura Sanko names most eligible opponent for Leon Edwards' upcoming title defense

Laura Sanko believes Belal Muhammad is more than deserving to face Leon Edwards for the welterweight title next.

Edwards recently defended the 170-pound strap against Colby Covington at UFC 296, dominating the American across the five rounds. Muhammad was also cageside for the fight as he weighed in as the back-up fighter.

Following 'Rocky's' second successive title defence, which extended his undefeated streak to 13 fights, many are looking forward to see who he will face in his next outing.

Belal Muhammad currently sits at No.2 in the rankings. There have also been calls for Shavkat Rakhmonov after he recently extended his UFC record to 6-0 with six straight finishes with a win over Stephen Thompson at UFC 296.

In a recent appearance on the Believe You Me podcast with Michael Bisping, Sanko offered her take on who Edwards should face next. According to the UFC Muhammad should certainly be the next man to challenge Edwards. She said:

"First off, it's the fight that has to be made. I think I said it on the weigh-in show, I was ready to riot if they didn't put Belal in this spot. The man has earned it, it's 10 fights now unbeaten. It's an interesting match up for sure. Out the gate I probably favor Leon a bit but a -400 favorite is steep."

Catch Sanko's comments here (11:10):

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Chael Sonnen calls for UFC 300 'super fight' between Leon Edwards and Islam Makhachev

Chael Sonnen recently made his pitch for UFC 300, which would include Islam Makhachev moving up a division to face Leon Edwards.

The lightweight champ has been vocal in about his desire to become a multi-weight champion. He has since set his sights on Edwards, who himself has been eyeing up a move to middleweight to achieve the same feat.

Speaking on his official YouTube channel, 'The American Gangster' stated that he believes there is no better time than UFC 300 in April to put the fight together. Sonnen said:

"I'm going to bring you the fight -- the fight you've all wanted, the fight you thought you couldn't get because of weight classes, because of different barriers, because of different protocols. Is that what Dana is talking about?...There is still one guy that's called out Leon Edwards. And we didn't give it a lot of attention because we didn't think it was possible ... Do you know who that guy is? Are you thinking? That guy is named Islam Makhachev. That's the other guy."

Catch Sonnen's comments regarding Leon Edwards here (6:50):