Watch Dana White separate Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad in a fierce showdown ahead of their UFC 304 showdown

LEON EDWARDS and Belal Muhammad got into a heated argument just days before their long-awaited rematch and had to be separated by Dana White.

The duo renews their rivalry in the early hours of this Sunday, in the main fight of UFC 304, in Manchester.

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Edwards and Muhammad’s first meeting, which took place in Las Vegas more than three years ago, ended in a No-Contest due to an accidental poke from the former.

Muhammad, 36, has been determined to get revenge on the Brit ever since that fateful night in Sin City.

And tensions were high between the pair – who had an awkward encounter in the fighters’ hotel elevator earlier this week – during Thursday’s pre-fight press conference at the Cooperative Live arena.

Verbal blows were thrown before they took part in a heated confrontation in front of a noisy Manchester crowd.

Muhammad escalated things by imitating a shot to Edwards’ head before the Brit tried to get him to back down.

UFC President and CEO White and security, however, were present to prevent things from getting worse.

Edwards, the UK’s second champion in the leading MMA promotion, nearly finished Muhammad with a vicious barrage of strikes strikes in the first round after hitting him with a kick to the head.

‘Rocky’ firmly believes that the fight would have ended in his victory if he had not poked Muhammad’s right eye.

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And Muhammad told SunSport: “I hope he leaves with the same mentality. “I hope he thinks it will be an easy fight.

“Even in that first fight, when you’re going back and watching it, he had a moment. It was a kick to the head.

“There was nothing else in that first round where you thought, ‘Oh, this is a 10-8 round.’

“It was still a 10-9 round on the judges’ scorecards. He beat me by six strikes. And in general, I’m a fast-paced guy.

“And that was before, you know, Leon was away for two years before that. So for us it was, ‘Let’s see what Leon comes out with. [with].

“’Let’s see what Leon shows up today, what he’s going to bring, what new style he brings.’

“So it was to start at a slow pace. I hope he thinks, ‘Okay, let’s follow suit.’

“And I’m even saying to myself, ‘I want to come out here and lose the first round against Leon in this fight just to show him – okay, you won the first round now, see what I do. next four.'”