At the UFC 304, Leon Edwards expected to resume a certain fight. Your revenge with Belal Muhammad was, in his opinion, a continuation of the first encounter, which he was winning comfortably before accidentally poking Muhammad’s eye – leading to a No Contest. But on Saturday, in Manchester, Edwards resumed the wrong fight.
Far from the skilled striker he may be, this was a slow Edwards, the slow Edwards of a summer night in 2022, when the Jamaican-born Brit fought as if he were underwater, in an anxious dream, or both.
That night, the welterweight title seemed destined to remain out of reach, to remain in the hands of Kamaru Usman, who was fighting tirelessly against Edwards for the second time in his career. And then…
In one of the most shocking moments in UFC historyEdwards drilled his shin into the champion’s skull with a minute left on the clock, leaving Usman an empty shell: physically in Salt Lake City, but mentally not in the same zip code, state, country or even on the same planet as Edwards.
On Saturday, Edwards again saw the welterweight title disappear, but this time slipping out of his own hands. And this time there would be no last-gasp heroics. There almost were, when Edwards – after one of Muhammad’s many falls and many minutes of control from his opponent – recovered to secure first position. With less than a minute left on the clock, Edwards lunged with elbows to open Muhammad’s forehead, blood running down the champion-in-waiting’s frightened face.
But this time it was too late. If only Edwards had carried out such attacks in the third round, when he was able to sufficiently counter Muhammad’s fight and control the Palestinian-American. At that moment, Edwards looked for the submission, trying to find a way beyond Muhammad’s hands and his neck – but biding his time, always the coach.
On Saturday, Edwards didn’t need to coach. He needed to be cruel. Muhammad is often criticized for his lack of finishing ability – a criticism often leveled at Edwards as well – but his pace, pressure and grappling strength are often the difference in his favor. The same happened on Saturday, but Muhammad also chose his moments to be cruel, like when he pulled Edwards off the mat and threw him headfirst into the canvas, almost running over the Brit.
We might suggest that criticism of Muhammad will be unjustified until it is It is justified. Under the guidance of UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov, he found a style that works for him, which extended his win streak to 10 in five years, and which peaked at age 36; but eventually, as with almost all MMA fighters (with the exception of Khabib, ironically), Muhammad’s puzzle will be solved and concerns about his footwork and dimensionality will be vindicated. But for now, praise takes priority.
Likewise, it is only now that it makes sense to scrutinize Edwards’ skill set, albeit in a different way than Muhammad did in Manchester. The Brit had won 12 fights in a row over nine years before Saturday, proving himself to be one of the most complete and technically skilled fighters of his generation. Therefore, concerns about his ability to finish fights were not necessarily justified – as of 6am on Sunday morning, they were.
It’s not like Edwards has never submitted an opponent. Ask Usman about Edwards’ killer instinct. Just ask Peter Sobotta, Abert Tumenov and Seth Baczynski. Is there. But for an MMA fighter intent on constantly evolving, the next evolutionary step is clear for Edwards: his timing has long been among the best in the game when it comes to technique; Now he must adjust his timing when it comes to eliminating his opponents.
Sobotta, Tumenov and Baczynski’s submissions came in 2018, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Against Colby Covington in December, Edwards proved he was on another level than the former interim champion, but the finish never came. Okay, but Edwards never pushed for the finish? This may have been a sign of what should change.
He flirted with submission attempts on that occasion, as if he was training and simply experimenting with techniques for fun. That’s a testament to how good Edwards can be under the bright lights. But what if he had gone for those submissions with a little more urgency, or he had used his elbows earlier against Muhammad?
It’s understandable that when Edwards is winning a fight, he’s somewhat risk averse, as he was against Covington. And when a fight is nearly lost, Edwards can break free, as he showed against Usman and Muhammad. But when a fight is on the line, perhaps his safety-first approach should give way to something bolder.
