An accidental eye poke from Leon Edwards put a premature end to his UFC return against Belal Muhammad, a fight with massive implications for the welterweight division.
Edwards vs. Muhammad
Edwards has missed out on massive headlines due to Britain’s travel restrictions and contracting COVID-19. With his last fight in July 2019 and recently having his scheduled bout with undefeated prospect Khamzat Chimaev canceled 3 times, Edwards was determined to fight on March 13th against anyone. Days after a dominant win at UFC 258, No. 13 ranked Muhammad jumped at the short notice opportunity to be the one to welcome “Rocky” back to the Octagon.
UFC president Dana White said earlier this week that if Edwards beat Muhammad, he would “100 percent” be next for a title shot. For Muhammad, a win over the No. 3 ranked welterweight in his main event debut would certainly place him in the conversation for a title shot and for fans to “Remember the Name.”
Edwards looked as great as ever in the first round, landing a powerful head kick nearly putting Muhammad on the canvas. Muhammad weathered the storm and found some success in the clinch. In the opening seconds of the second-round, Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye, forcing Muhammad to fall to the canvas, screaming in agony. The ringside physician examined Muhammad’s eye, and referee Herb Dean called an end to fight shortly after. The fight was ruled a No Contest, technically ending Edwards’ 8-fight win streak.
Muhammad was rushed to the hospital for further examination. He took to Twitter later, saying, “The vision is coming back and no permanent damage to the eye.” Muhammad also expressed interest to “run it back” with Edwards.
No more contests
The main event was not the only No Contest at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad. In the main card opener between Eryk Anders and Darren Stewart, another No Contest put an early end to a barn burner. Following back and forth chaos, Anders gained momentum and forced Stewart to knees up against the fence. With less than a minute left in the first round, Anders wanted to continue his flurry on the hurt and grounded Stewart. Anders landed an illegal knee to a clearly grounded Stewart. Stewart partially deflected the knee with his shoulder, but the blow still impacted the fighter. Following the controversy at UFC 259 last weekend, one would believe fighters to be extra cognizant in terms of knees to a downed opponent.
The fight was ruled a No Contest instead of a Disqualification due to perceived intent and round the illegal strike was landed in. According to the Unified Rules of MMA, if an illegal strike is thrown in the third-round or beyond, the fight will go to the judges’ scorecards to determine a winner, should the strike be ruled non-intentional.
New gloves
Edwards’ eye poke was one of the worst the sport has seen. There will undoubtedly be discourse regarding a UFC glove redesign following this event. Responsibility has to fall onto the fighter not to have their fingers extended, but the heat of the moment typically takes over. This is a unique problem for MMA, specifically the UFC. Many argue more padding over the fingers would be safer for the fighters.
The opening and closing fights ended anti-climatically, but the rest of the main card was packed full of knockouts, with one split decision.
Quick results
Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad — No Contest (eye poke) in Round Two
Ryan Spann def. Misha Cirkunov by TKO (punches) in Round One
Dan Ige def. Gavin Tucker by KO (punch) in Round One
Davey Grant def. Jonathan Martinez by TKO (punches) in Round Two
Matheus Nicolau def. Manel Kape by split decision (28-29, 29-28 2x)
Eryk Anders vs. Darren Stewart — No Contest (illegal knee) in Round One
Angela Hill def. Ashley Yoder by unanimous decision (30-27 3x)
Charles Jourdain def. Marcelo Rojo by TKO (punches) in Round Three
Rani Yahya def. Ray Rodriguez by submission (arm triangle choke) in Round Two
Nasrat Haqparast def. Rafa Garcia by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 2x)
J.J. Aldrich def. Cortney Casey by split decision (28-29, 29-28 2x)
Jinh Yu Frey def. Gloria de Paula by unanimous decision (29-28 3x)
Matthew Semelsberger def. Jason Witt by KO (punch) in Round One
