Leon Edwards’ Coach Makes Huge Claim About His Fighter’s UFC 304 Defeat

Edwards Surrender of Welterweight Title Due to Training Camp Injuries, Coach Reveals

In a shocking revelation, Leon Edwards’ coach, Dave Lovell, has disclosed that his fighter was plagued by nagging injuries during training camp, which significantly hindered his performance in his UFC 304 defeat against Belal Muhammad.

Edwards, who previously held the UFC welterweight championship, appeared sluggish and off his usual pace in the fight against Muhammad. The Palestinian-American fighter effectively took Edwards down and stunned him with a slam in the second round, ultimately securing a unanimous decision victory.

Following the match, Lovell explained that Edwards had experienced persistent back issues that compromised his wrestling abilities. Despite the injuries, Edwards was determined to fight and declined to withdraw from the event.

“I’m not making any kind of excuses for him,” Lovell stated. “But we had a few niggles in camp. His back was niggling him so he couldn’t wrestle the way he really needed to offensively and defensively, you know, because of the niggle that recurred about maybe 2 or 3 times.”

“Well, not taking nothing away from Belal’s performance, you know he did well, he done well. The best man won on the night. But Leon will be back.”

Lovell revealed that discussions were held about Edwards potentially withdrawing from UFC 304, but the fighter expressed his desire to compete despite the injuries.

“Well, believe it or not, we had a powwow about it, and I was very dubious because these niggles was going on for about maybe five, five or so weeks on and off,” Lovell said.

“He had to go to a chiropractor, regular massages. But again, after one session it was back to square one.

“In the back part of my mind, you know, I was thinking, ‘Well, should we go for this?’ But because he hadn’t fought for so long Leon said he wanted it.

“So, we just pushed forward with the injury, train through the injury and try to, you know, get through and get a victory. Unfortunately, it never happened.”

The revelation of Edwards’ injuries sheds new light on his performance against Muhammad and underscores the challenges fighters face when battling injuries while preparing for fights.