Belal Muhammad on standby for Edwards-Usman backup role at UFC 286

Newly-crowned welterweight champion Leon Edwards will make his first 170-pound title defense against the man he stripped of the strap, former division kingpin Kamaru Usman, atop the UFC 286 pay-per-view (PPV) event on March 18 at The O2 in London, England.

But if something catastrophic should happen and the promotion needs a late replacement, No. 4-ranked welterweight contender Belal Muhammad will be ready.

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CHAMPIONSHIP TRILOGY! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to The O2 in London England, on Sat., March 18, 2023, with newly-minted Welterweight kingpin, Leon Edwards, running it back with former 170-pound champion, Kamaru Usman, for a third (and likely final) time. In UFC 286’s pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, all-action Lightweight knockout artists, Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev, will lock horns with the winner inching closer to a future Lightweight title shot.

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“I’m hoping that ends up being the situation, where they call me out, bring me out down there because you never know what happens,” Muhammad told The Schmo (transcribed by Farah Hannoun). “Guys have been getting injured day of, day before. I see they’ve done backups for every single title fight, so I don’t understand why they wouldn’t wanna put me on that card. But if they give me the Colby fight before that, I’ll take it. If not, I’m ready to be the backup.”

The promotion has been working on a potential headliner between Muhammad and two-time title challenger Colby Covington, but “Chaos” has yet to commit.

Muhammad (22-3, 1 NC) has won eight in a row, with a “No Contest” against the aforementioned Edwards sandwiched between a pair of impressive win streaks. “Remember the Name” is coming off a technical knockout win over Sean Brady at UFC 280 in Oct. 2022.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 286 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 286: “Edwards vs. Usman 3” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.