4 Best Opponents for Leon Edwards After UFC 296 Win
It's the cross every champion has to bear.
The moment you vanquish one challenger—in this case a tough-talking one who perpetually under-delivers on the highest level—there's always another calling out your name.
Then again, it's probably not such a bad problem for Leon Edwards to have.
The UFC welterweight king had just retained his crown with a one-sided decision over three-time title-shot loser Colby Covington on Saturday night in Las Vegas when the wannabe next-in-lines began declaring their candidacies via any convenient outlet.
That was all the B/R combat team needed to get involved, coming together to create a list of options for the Englishman once he emerges from the post-Covington afterglow.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the comments.
Belal Muhammad
1 of 4
The champ doesn't buy it. But nearly everyone else does.
If rankings and momentum are what matters, Belal Muhammad has got next at 170.
The 35-year-old from Chicago was the backup in case Saturday's headliner fell through, he's ranked third in the division behind the last two failed title challengers, and he's not lost a fight in nearly five years—going 9-0 with a no-contest (against Edwards) since January 2019.
Call it "Unfinished Business" on the marquee after their Fight Night main in March 2021 ended just seconds into the second round when fingers from Edwards' left hand extended into his right eye, prompting immediate swelling and a trickle of blood.
Neither man has been blemished since, with Edwards beating Nate Diaz, Kamaru Usman to win and defend the title, and Covington in defense No. 2, while Muhammad handled Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady and Gilbert Burns to stay in the mix.
Covington was given his third career shot after 21 months on the shelf, so, unless Dana White intends to get creative once again, no else makes more sense than Muhammad.
Shavkat Rakhmonov
2 of 4
It's hard to make a rankings case for a guy slotted two spots lower than Muhammad, but if the brass is looking to elevate an unbeaten fighter and a main event novelty, here's an idea.
Finishing ace Shavkat Rakhmonov has been a side-stage performer in each of his six UFC appearances, but he ran his record to 18-0 and became the first man to submit Stephen Thompson—a two-time title challenger—in the middle of Saturday's pay-per-view show.
He's submitted 10 foes and knocked out eight others in a career that stretches back to 2014 and has included octagonal wipeouts of Thompson and similarly established welterweight gatekeepers Geoff Neal (SUB 3) and Neal Magny (SUB 2) over his past three fights.
A case for him jumping past Muhammad could be made if White wants to take Edwards overseas to headline in England, or elsewhere in Europe or Asia where Rakhmonov's Kazakh heritage could be used to generate interest with novel demographics.
And Rakhmonov, if elected, will be happy to serve.
"I'm very happy to have finished (Thompson)," he said after Saturday's win. "I believe the winner of the title fight (between Edwards and Covington), I'm ready to fight next."
Islam Makhachev
3 of 4
The champ-champ thing is, well...a thing.
Conor McGregor did it in 2016. Daniel Cormier did it in 2018.
And Alex Volkanovski tried it, twice, in 2023.
So it'd be no surprise if the man who denied the Aussie's two bids for the 155-pound title has real interest in accomplishing the feat for himself.
Lightweight king Islam Makhachev seized pound-for-pound supremacy on the strength of decision and head-kick defeats of Volkanovski, and given inside-the-distance losses suffered in recent title fights by his top-three challengers—Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier—perhaps enabling his ladder climb to 170 wouldn't be so bad.
Makhachev went to social media Saturday night to suggest he'd handle either Edwards or Covington if given the chance. His signature smothering style, honed by years of training with long-established combat sambo experts in Dagestan, would presumably give the champ the sustained competitive push that Covington promised but never delivered.
As for Edwards, he at least seems interested in cashing the would-be check.
"All comers are welcome," he said. "Pay me right and I will show up. That's my mentality. If you pay me well, I will show up and anybody can get it."
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Khamzat Chimaev
4 of 4
No one has played the recent UFC boogeyman any better than Khamzat Chimaev.
The Russian-born "Borz" was a violent staple of a pandemic-addled UFC, establishing his menacing brand at the quarantine-free "Fight Island" venue in Abu Dhabi before bringing it stateside for defeats of ranked welterweights Kevin Holland and Gilbert Burns.
Injuries and illness kept him on the shelf for 13 months before a middleweight defeat of ex-170-pound champ Usman in October, and, lest anyone forget, he was actually scheduled to meet current incumbent Edwards before COVID scuttled the plans in January 2021.
So it wouldn't be a huge stretch for White and Co. to shake things up and welcome Chimaev back from surgery to address a hand injury from the Usman fight. Perhaps at welterweight if the would-be challenger can make 170 again. Perhaps at middleweight if Edwards is looking to broaden his horizons after a successful 12-fight run of his own.
Because it's hot, no matter where.
"He's a good fighter, (but) I don't think he's what the UFC was building him to be, like this untouchable monster," Edwards told Michael Bisping in January. "He's a solid fighter, he's good, but there's always ways to beat these guys."
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
