Morning report: Colby Covington says Leon Edwards should have been disqualified for poking Belal Muhammad

Last Saturday, Leon Edwards faced Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC Vegas 21. The fight was Edwards’ first since July 2019 and things didn’t go as planned. After a good opening stanza, in the second round Edwards poked Muhammad in the eye, ending the fight and resulting in a no-contest. It was an unfortunate result for Edwards, who had aspirations for the title with a win, but welterweight contender Colby Covington believes Edwards was really lucky.

Speaking with Submission Radio, Covington argued that Edwards should have been disqualified for a nudge in the eye at the end of the fight, rather than being presented with a no-contest.

“He hasn’t fought in two years,” said Covington. “He has a no-contest that, by the way, should be a disqualification. He nudged the guy in the first round and, behind the scenes, I know that Herb Dean gave him the warning: ‘Hey, don’t nudge anyone’, because that’s the instruction they give each time before you go out there and fight. He should have been disqualified. I don’t know how it went without competition. That said, he hasn’t fought in two years. How is he still in the ranking? “

Edwards was briefly removed from the UFC ranking last year due to inactivity, but was restored when he had a scheduled fight against Khamzat Chimaev. This fight was postponed several times due to COVID-19 and, finally, Chimaev was replaced by Muhammad, with the idea that an Edwards victory could be enough to propel him to a welterweight title fight against Kamaru Usman . Theoretically, the no-contest last weekend should put an end to that idea, but Edwards still asked for the next title opportunity anyway, something that Covington considers absurd.

“It’s hilarious,” said Covington. “Some people said, ‘Oh, it’s an accident!’ An accident is when one of the lights above the octagon falls into the octagon and hits the head of one of the fighters. An accident is if Herb Dean has a heart attack in the octagon and he is unable to refute it, then they ask for a fight. This is an accident. A second nudge in the eye, a third nudge in the eye are not accidents. That should have been a disqualification. The guy hasn’t won a fight in two years. He has refused fights left and right with several people behind me who are nobody. I’m the number one guy in the world, Marty Fakenewsman and I have unfinished business. “

Covington’s Schtick in recent years has been the talk of anyone and everyone in the welterweight division and Edwards is no exception to that. In fact, when Chimaev was forced out of the fight due to the persistent effects of COVID-19, Edwards called for a fight with Covington, and since then, the two have jumped back and forth with Covington saying they weren’t going to do it. “Charity work” for Edwards.

Of course, Covington has other very personal reasons for Edwards not to get a shot at the title. UFC and Usman strongly suggested a rematch between Usman and Jorge Masvidal as the next fight for the division up to 170 pounds, and if Edwards jumped there, then Covington would be several spots behind. That said, Covington admits that if the UFC pays off, he will fight Edwards, but unless that happens, he is waiting for one of the biggest names in the category and Edwards can only compete with Muhammad.

“They know what they can do to make me appear in this fight, but I’m not showing up for charity,” concluded Covington. “The guy hasn’t won yet in two years. A no-contest, this is not a victory, this is not a fight. He needs to rematch that guy ‘Bailey’. They need to fight again … Repeat that Leon fight against ‘Bailey’ because nobody cares about it. Nobody wants to watch that hot garbage. The only fight to do is me against Marty Newsman or me against Street Judas Masvidal. “

Covington’s most recent fight was last September, a technical knockout in the fifth round on former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.

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Results. Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad finishes at No Contest after a nudge in the UFC Vegas 21 main event.

Leon Edwards is not interested in Belal Muhammad’s rematch: ‘I believe I deserve a chance for the next title’.

Belal Muhammad shares image of eye injury, rips Leon Edwards for refusing immediate rematch.

Derrick Lewis “certainly” wants a rematch with Francis Ngannou, but first he needs to renegotiate the contract.

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UFC Vegas 21 Post Show.

UFC Vegas 21 post-fight press conference.

Wrestling.

Rogan talking about the Petr Yan fiasco.

The MMA media chooses Brunson vs. the Netherlands.

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For the next. Matchmaking for fighters after UFC Vegas 21.

Severe MMA. Discussing UFC Vegas 21 and the return of Cage Warriors.

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Rogan is a great artist.

A fair question after that.

Good effort.

Yes.

Apparently, this is a pandemic among the fighters.

Sorry.

That said, it’s just a good tweet.

Friends.

Beef.

Brillant.

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Luigi Vendramini (9-1) vs. Fares Ziam (11-3); UFC 263, June 12.

Jake Collier (12-5) vs. Carlos felipe (10-1); UFC 263, June 12.

Ed Herman (25-14, 1 NC) vs. Danilo Marques (11-2); UFC Fight Night, June 26.

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Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow.

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