Leon Edwards had not participated in nearly two years. This was clearly not the result he had hoped for on his return.
Edwards accidentally stabbed Belal Muhammad in the right eye in the opening seconds of round two on Saturday at the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. Mohammed immediately fell in pain and the blood began to drip from the eye.
The ringside doctor entered the Octagon and shortly afterwards Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight. The official result was labeled a no-contest due to the eye-poke, with the fight ending 18 seconds into the second round.
Edwards went for a combination, starting with a kick and ending with a left hand. But his hand was open on the thrust and his fingers touched Muhammad’s right eye.
“I didn’t mean to do it,” Edwards said in his post-fight interview. “I went for the cross-head kick. He got in. I sincerely apologize [have] a loss than that. My heart is broken. I don’t know what to say. “
Edwards had not fought since July 20, 2019, a span of 19 months. The dismissal was due to COVID-19 lockdowns, canceled events, and he and his opponents tested positive for the coronavirus. When he left the cage on Saturday, the incredibly unfortunate Edwards said he only had questions for his team.
“What now?” Edwards said he asked them. “What do I do now? I focused on my next chapter to become world champion … It’s been a year and a half. To get back to that, it’s like …”
Edwards looked great in the first round. He received a big head kick that opened a cut in Muhammad’s right ear. Edwards also landed some hard left hands and one-two combinations. Muhammad’s best blow was an elbow out of the clinch against the cage.
After getting his eye poked, Mohammed was in pain and visibly emotional, he clearly wanted to keep going but couldn’t. His right eye was already swelling in the moments after the poke. ESPN had ranked Edwards number 4 in the world by welterweight.
UFC President Dana White said this week that if Edwards beat Mohammed, he would be “100 percent” in line for a title. This had to be his chance to throw himself back into divisional relevance after the long layoff.
UFC Fight Night took place using COVID-19 protocols in effect at the UFC Apex, a facility across the street from the promotion’s corporate campus.
Edwards (18-3, 1 NC) had won eight consecutive fights leading up to Saturday. His only loss in the past seven years was against current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in 2015. Edwards, a 29-year-old resident of Jamaica fighting for Birmingham, England, has won victories over former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, Donald “Cowboy. Cerrone and Vicente Luque.
“I’ve worked my way up from defeat by Kamaru Usman,” said Edwards. “I fought everyone. I chose to fight everyone. I think I deserve a defending champion after this.”
Mohammed (18-3, 1 NC) was on a winning streak of four fights. The Chicago native came to a unanimous decision to win Dhiego Lima just 28 days ago, taking this fight three weeks in advance after Edwards’ original opponent Khamzat Chimaev withdrew due to long-standing health complications from COVID-19.
Mohammed, 32, has suffered just one loss in his past 10 fights. He later wrote on social media that his vision was returning and that his eye had not sustained any permanent damage. He wants a rematch with Edwards.
“My heart is broken, my first main event ended like this, but God is the best of the planners, the fans and the UFC are sorry you deserved a full fight,” Mohammed tweeted