No guts no glory MAIN EVENT MUHAMMAD
pic.twitter.com/gqZbHiOzTN— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170)
February 18, 2021
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight
Belal
Muhammad is striking while the iron is hot. Courtesy of an ESPN
announcement on Thursday, Muhammad (18-3) will be stepping in on
short notice to take on Leon
Edwards (18-3) atop
UFC Fight Night 187. The two 170-pounders will come to blows at
the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on March 13, with Muhammad replacing the
COVID-afflicted Khamzat
Chimaev. Muhammad quickly confirmed
this booking on his social media.
The bout will be a very quick turnaround for the man known as
“Remember the Name,” who bested Dhiego Lima
across three rounds on Feb. 13. The win lifted Muhammad to a
four-fight win streak that has seem him defeat Lyman Good,
Takashi
Sato and Curtis
Millender on his climb up the welterweight rankings. In his
last nine outings dating back to 2017, the Roufusport fighter’s
lone setback came against fellow contender Geoff
Neal.
Edwards, who was briefly considered as a potential foe for Colby
Covington or Jorge
Masvidal, will instead be putting his eight-fight win streak on
the line against the surging Muhammad. The Brit has been out of
action largely for reasons beyond his control since mid-2019, with
a 2020 matchup against Tyron
Woodley falling through due to the coronavirus pandemic. Three
more COVID-19-related snafus led to cancellations against the
aforementioned Chimaev, and the promotion decided to move on from
this matchup. Of note, Edwards was briefly linked to a title
opportunity against Kamaru
Usman around the summer of 2020, but it dematerialized when the
Englishman would not be able to make the short-notice appearance
when compounded with international travel restrictions.
UFC Fight Night 187 goes down on March 13 at the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas, with the new welterweight headliner set between Edwards and
Muhammad. Although featherweight Dan Ige lost
opponent Ryan Hall, the
promotion is still searching for a replacement opponent. Other key
matchups on the card include a middleweight clash between Eryk Anders
and Darren
Stewart, as well as a prospective heavyweight slobberknocker
between Ben Rothwell
and Philipe
Lins.
