Belal Muhammad shook up the welterweight division at UFC 304 this past weekend by overcoming the odds to become the welterweight champion.
Leon Edwards had reigned for close to two years. Now, “Rocky” going back to being a contender provides some interesting options for the division.
Fans have been critical of Muhammad’s style for some time, but the same can’t be said for the current list of top contenders at 170 pounds.
With the likes of Shavkat Rakhmonov, Jack Della Maddalena, and Ian Garry all in the mix, there’s some great matchups for Edwards, assuming that he isn’t getting a straight rematch.
His coach believes that one of those names is the best option partly due to his history with the former champion…
Dave Lovell Says Ian Garry Is His Pick To Fight Leon Edwards Next
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Edwards’ head coach Dave Lovell said that his preferred choice for Edwards’ bounce-back fight would be the #7-ranked Garry.
The undefeated Irishman previously had some tension with Edwards and his team after spending a brief amount of time training with them at Team Renegade in Birmingham, England.
Lovell said that this history combined with Garry’s current position in this division make this fight a great return for “Rocky.”
“I’d like to see Leon fight Ian Garry. Obviously we can keep it British based, either Ireland or over here. Obviously the little background story we had going back last year is a — he’s looking for a scalp. Now Leon’s not champion, he may think well, he’s a good scalp for him to get to obviously march on to get a championship belt or title shot.
“For Leon, if Leon beats him, that then puts him at the back of the queue and then maybe if they want one more before he fights Belal, if Belal’s still got the belt, well that’ll be the future move, the future plan.”
Lovell believes Edwards would have the advantage in this fight because of the experience that he brings to the table.
The Team Renegade head coach said that during Garry’s short time at the gym, they were able to identify some of the weaker areas in his game.
“I believe Leon would beat him with the simple fact of fight experience. (Garry’s) a good lad, he’s got good skills, but we know — because we’ve seen some when he was at our gym — don’t just think he came to the gym and it was a boogie ride for him, you know, he was getting tapped out by — again, I’m not mentioning no names. If he wants to mention them, that’s up to him.”
