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No. 3 ranked UFC welterweight Leon Edwards made his first walk to the Octagon in 20 months but the fight ended by unfortunate circumstances.
“Rocky” headlined UFC Vegas 21 on Saturday night opposite No. 13 ranked Belal Muhammad. It was an important fight for both competitors, as an impressive victory could have landed Edwards a title shot and if Muhammad picked up the win, he would have propelled himself to the top of the 170-pound division.
However, there was no winner.
In the second round, Edwards unintentionally poked “Remember the Name” in the eye. It was a devastating foul that dropped Muhammad, who instantly became emotional. Muhammad was clearly in pain and told referee Herb Dean that he couldn’t see out of the eye. Dean then called off the fight and the main event was ruled a no-decision.
Watch the eye poke below:
“Sorry, Belal, brother. Sorry, brother.”
@Leon_edwardsmma apologized to @bullyb170 for the accidental eye poke that resulted in their #UFCVegas21 fight being declared a No Decison.
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Edwards Gave His Take on the Situation During the Post-Fight Press Conference, Muhammad Issues Statement
“Heartbreaking, devastating, it’s been a long, long road to come back,” Edwards said during the post-fight presser. “And to come back to that is upsetting, to say the least.”
Rocky broke down the fight-ending exchange.
“I thought it was a punch,” Rocky said. “The combination I was throwing was a cross, head kick. As I threw the cross, he kind of stepped in to close the distance and then I seen him grab his eye and turned around. I thought it was a punch.”
“I wish Belal nothing but full recovery. It was an accident, I didn’t mean it. So, I wish him nothing but recovery.”
After the poke, Edwards didn’t think the fight would be stopped until he heard Muhammad getting emotional.
“When I seen him start crying, I was like, ‘S***, it must be bad.’
“You see a lot of eye pokes in MMA and you kind of take your five minutes to recover, you fight again. I was just getting into the flow of it. I felt great out there.” Edwards said that although it had been almost two years since he competed, he didn’t feel any ring rust inside the Octagon.
A little while after the main event, Muhammad took to social media to issue a statement.
“My heart is shattered my first main event ended like that but Gods the best of planners im sorry to the fans and the @ufc you deserved a full fight.. Alhamdillah the vision is coming back and no permanent damage to the eye I’ll be back and want to run it back.”
My heart is shattered my first main event ended like that but Gods the best of planners im sorry to the fans and the @ufc you deserved a full fight.. Alhamdillah the vision is coming back and no permanent damage to the eye I’ll be back and want to run it back @Leon_edwardsmma
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Edwards & Muhammad’s Win Streak Were Snapped on Saturday Night
Both headline fighters rolled into the cage riding impressive win streaks. Edwards was on an eight-fight streak that included victories over the likes of former UFC lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos and fan favorite Donald Cerrone.
Remember the Name was on a five-fight streak, earning his most recent win last month over Dhiego Lima.
For what’s next, it’s unclear. The UFC could run the fight back soon, depending on Muhammad’s eye. If Remember the Name is shelved for a while, the UFC could look to go the direction of a No. 1 contender fight between Edwards and Colby Covington. Or, Rocky could be granted the next title shot.
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