Belal Muhammad has come out firing at Leon Edwards’ trainer.
Dave Lovell, who has been the welterweight champion’s coach for years, recently told talkSPORT MMA that his star client will feature at UFC 304.
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An opponent hasn’t been announced yet, but Lovell is ’99.9 per cent' sure that ‘Rocky’ will face Muhammad at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on July 27.
Edwards and Muhammad fought in March 2021, but their fight ended in a no-contest after the Palestinian-American MMA star took an inadvertent eye poke in round two.
The Team Renegade trainer suggested that Muhammad exaggerated his injury in an effort to get Edwards disqualified from the fight.
Lovell said: “He got his a*** severed to him for a round-and-a-half in the last fight.
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“If that eye poke never happened, I think Leon would’ve finished him in the second round.
“To me, analysing the fight and looking back on it, Belal was looking for a way out and to steal a decision.
“That eye poke, and the noise he made, literally screaming and crying, it’s funny that he didn’t have to go to hospital, didn’t have any eye damage, so what does that tell you?
“If the medics clear him after the fight, what does that tell you? He tried to steal a decision, but payback is a b****, we’ll see.”
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A clip from Lovell’s talkSPORT interview quickly went viral on social media before it made its way to Muhammad, who aimed a menacing message at the renowned coach.
“Remember this statement after round 4 and Leon is looking to you for your motivational speech after I’ve slapped him around for 20 minutes,” he wrote alongside three crying laughing emojis.
Leon Edwards hits Colby Covington with a water bottle after Covington mentions his father being in hell ahead of their huge fight at UFC 296
Muhammad is currently riding a nine-fight win streak at 170lbs.
Since his no-contest with Edwards, the 35-year-old has picked up high-profile victories over Demian Maia, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, Vicente Luque and Sean Brady.
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In May 2023, he outpointed Gilbert Burns over five rounds to become the #2 ranked welterweight on the planet and earn an overdue shot at UFC gold.
Edwards hasn’t fought since beating up Colby Covington at UFC 296 in December, but he was heavily linked to a fight at UFC 300 on April 13.
The Birmingham native earned props for accepting three different opponents for the card before Dana White decided he wouldn’t feature at the landmark event.
It appears Edwards and Muhammad will settle their rivalry this summer.