“His back was niggling,” Leon Edwards was ‘INJURED’, claims famous coach after UFC 304 defeat

Leon Edwards was not at 100 percent health stepping into the octagon against Belal Muhammad at UFC 304.

“His back was niggling,” Leon Edwards was ‘INJURED’, claims famous coach after UFC 304 defeat

Leon Edwards was injured going into UFC 304 against Belal Muhammad (Image via Imago)

Leon Edwards lost to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304. The welterweight champion’s reign came to a close at his home ground in Manchester. However, coach Dave Lovell has an important detail that could have affected the outcome of the main event showdown.

Leon Edwards‘s coach Dave Lovell recently sat down for a conversation with Submission Radio. During their discussion, Lovell prefaced by saying that he did not wish to make excuses for Edwards’s loss at UFC 304. He then went on to reveal the problem Leon Edwards had walked in with inside the octagon at UFC 304.

And his game plan come off. Where Leon was concerned. A lot of people don’t know this, and I am not making any kinds of excuses for him. But we had a few niggles in camp his back was niggling. So he couldn’t wrestle the way he really needed to.
Dave Lovell on Submission Radio
YouTube video

Apparently, ‘Rocky’ was almost ready to step back from the fight because of the possible back injury during training camp. Social media was filled with comments talking about how mellow the entire event was. Even UFC CEO, Dana White was disappointed in the lack of performance on the fight card.

FS Video

However, Leon Edwards showed up to the octagon and faced Belal Muhammad. The fight went the distance and ‘Remember The Name’ ultimately came out on top as the new welterweight champion. It will be interesting to see if the Brit can claim back his title anytime soon.

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Leon Edward’s coach wants him to fight Ian Garry

During the interview with Submission Radio, Dave Lovell talked about Leon Edwards’s potential opponents for his comeback after the loss at UFC 304. Lovell took a few names at welterweight namely Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Garry.

Leon Edwards vs Ian Garry
Leon Edwards vs Ian Garry (Image via Imago)

Edwards has to get himself back in contention to fight for the title. Being a three-time defending champion, Lovell estimates two wins with a few up-and-coming fighters or one contender in the top-five rankings would get ‘Rocky’ back in title fight discussions.

I would like to see Leon fight Ian Garry. Obviously we can keep it British based, either Ireland or over here.... He’s looking for a scalp,... he may think it is a good scalp for him to get to march on to get a championship belt or a title shot.
Dave Lovell on Submission Radio

Garry previously trained at Team Renegade. However, he was kicked out and as per Edwards, the Irishman was not a culture fit for the gym. Lovell anticipates a rematch between Muhammad and Edwards in about two years in 2026. It will be interesting to see how that trilogy fight turns out and if ‘Remember The Name’ is even champion till then.

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