Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad had an awkward encounter in an elevator during UFC 304 fight week, leading to a brief verbal exchange that escalated only after they exited the elevator.
It’s almost impossible for opponents to avoid each other during fight week. But Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad got a little too close for comfort ahead of UFC 304.
As the welterweights prepared to battle in the main event on Saturday, Muhammad was riding an elevator at the host hotel. The doors opened, and he found Edwards staring back at him. Rather than waiting for a different elevator, Edwards and his team walked right in. This led to an awkward interaction between Muhammad and his team.
“I was going up to floor three, [the elevator] opened and he was standing right there in front,” Edwards said at UFC 304 media day. “I think he thought in his head that I wouldn’t come into the lift so I walked straight into the lift and said, ‘Press No. 3,’ and that was it.”
While the scene could have turned ugly quickly, Muhammad said only Edwards’ head coach Dave Lovell decided to jaw at him during the close-quarters encounter. “I just heard a little short freaking midget screaming something, and I was like, ‘What the heck was that?’” Muhammad said.
He realized it ended up being Edwards’ coach in front. But Leon and his team didn’t say anything. “His brother [Fabian Edwards] was trying to give me a dirty look,” Muhammad added. “But he didn’t know I was sizing him up for after the cage if he ends up hopping in wanting to do something.”
Edwards and Muhammad did exchange words but only after both fighters exited the elevator. That’s when the real chirping began.
UFC Embedded cameras captured the whole interaction as Edwards and his team jumped into the elevator where Muhammad’s squad waited. While there were a few words exchanged inside, nothing got too heated until everyone exited.
Edwards expected Muhammad to address him while they were stuck together but noted that talking didn’t start until after they escaped the claustrophobic situation. “It was weird because in the lift he was mad quiet,” Edwards said. “Then after we’re outside, he’s like, ‘Oh p*ssy, blah blah blah.’ Like bro, why didn’t you say all this in the lift? I don’t know.”
Regarding Muhammad sizing up his brother — Bellator middleweight Fabian Edwards — Leon only cracked a smile and laughed. “Oh God, that’s funny,” he said.
Nothing turned physical, but Muhammad seemed more impressed by Edwards’ coach than by his opponent when it came to hyping up the fight. “I’d rather have his coach talk,” Muhammad remarked. “Because his coach was talking trash [in the elevator], it would be a [funnier] build-up talking with that little gremlin.”