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Belal Muhammad has shed light on his backstage conversation with referee Herb Dean which took place before the UFC Vegas 21 main event. The 32-year-old welterweight said his team had warned Dean about potential eye pokes that may arise from Edwards' fighting style.
Belal Muhammad was on the receiving end of a nasty eye poke during his fight against Edwards. The main event clash was ruled no contest after the ringside doctors found Muhammad unfit to continue.
'Remember the Name' recently took to Twitter to address the controversy surrounding the eye poke he received. He claimed Dean was told to watch Edwards' fingers before the fight.
"We literally told @HerbDeanMMA in the back prefight that we’re looking to wrestle so please watch his fingers," Muhammad wrote.
UFC light heavyweight Jamahal Hill also anticipated a potential eye poke from Edwards. 'Sweet Dreams' noted that the British fighter had extended his fingers, which ultimately held Muhammad back from charging forward.
Herb Dean, however, stood by his decision of not disqualifying Edwards. According to the UFC referee, 'Rocky' didn't eye poke Muhammad intentionally.
Belal Muhammad was competing in the first main event of his UFC career. Coming into the fight, the Palestinian native was on a four-fight win streak, and had lost only once in his previous nine outings.
Belal Muhammad wants a rematch with Leon Edwards
Shortly after the fight, Leon Edwards asked for a title fight against welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Belal Muhammad, however, seemed discontent with Edwards' request.
He referred to Edwards as "soft" for requesting a title fight instead of an immediate rematch with him.
Edwards was out of action for well over a year and a half before he locked horns with Muhammad at UFC Vegas 21. His fights against Tyron Woodley and Khamzat Chimaev were rescheduled on multiple occasions due to injury, Covid-19 and travel restrictions. Ultimately, they all fell apart.
It appears that the Brit is no longer willing to fight Belal Muhammad - who he only agreed to fight on short notice as his fight against Chimaev had been called off - and is instead campaigning for a title shot
Edwards and division champion Kamaru Usman previously fought each other in 2015, where 'The Nigerian Nightmare' secured a unanimous decision victory.
