Welterweight contender Leon "Rocky" Edwards (18-3, 6 KOs, 3 SUBs) will meet Belal Muhammad (18-3, 4 KOs, 1 SUB) in the main event of UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad on Saturday, March 13, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card airs live on ESPN+ starting 8pm ET. Also on the card is an intriguing featherweight contest between No. 9 Dan "50k" Ige (14-3, 3 KOs, 5 SUBs) and Canada's Gavin Tucker (13-1, 4 KOs, 6 SUBs). Let's take a closer look at the Edwards vs. Muhammad odds and break down your best UFC online betting picks.
Bet on UFC at BookMaker.eu
The Stakes
How many wins does a boring fighter need to string together to get a title shot. That's a question that Leon Edwards is answering in real time, has won eight straight to claim the No. 3 ranking, yet is relegated to fighting a tough Belal Muhammad this Saturday - a guy who's not even ranked in the top 10. He's not much fun to watch, but you kinda gotta feel for the guy. The UFC couldn't even give him a bigger name like Wonderboy, Michael Chiesa or even Neil Magny? The worst part is that losing to Muhammad - who is no slouch - would boot him out of title contention.
Leon Edwards (18-3, 6 KOs, 3 SUBs)
A few guys Edwards has beaten on his current streak: Vicente Luque, Bryan Barberena, Cowboy Cerrone, Gunnar Nelson and most recently, Rafael dos Anjos. That's...ok. Aside from Luque and RDA, none of those fighters are ranked. That's not to say they're tin cans, but you can't argue that Edwards has been facing elite competition - which is not really his fault since nobody seems to want to fight him.
Nobody seems to want to watch him either. What's funny is that Edwards made his UFC debut touted as a knockout artist, but has done a complete 180 and transformed himself into a suffocating wrestler. You've got to give him a lot of credit for evolving so quickly in that area, as the UK doesn't have the wrestling systems that the US does. Even a talented submission artist like Gunnar Nelson had no answer for Edwards' top game. Will the striking ever come back? Who knows, but it would sure help his watchability. We do know that it's lurking there somewhere.
Belal Muhammad (18-3, 4 KOs, 1 SUB)
"Remember the Name" gets a huge chance to make a name for himself here - a win could thrust him into the top 7 of a loaded division. The question is whether he belongs in the cage with Edwards in the first place. A 12-fight UFC vet, Muhammad has put together a 9-3 record inside the octagon and won eight of his last nine. Here's the catch: those victories came against guys like Lyman Good, Dhiego Lima and Takashi Sato.
Muhammad is a tough dude that doesn't really have any weaknesses, but the problem is that he doesn't really have any real strengths either. He's just a technically sound fighter that outpoints his opponents. A low level of athleticism really caps his ceiling as well, since he really doesn't have any finishing ability.
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Edwards 2.53 / Muhammad 4.37
Striking accuracy: Edwards 47% / Muhammad 41%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Edwards 2.05 / Muhammad 3.81
Striking defense: Edwards 55% / Muhammad 60%
Grappling Stats
Takedowns per 15 minutes: Edwards 1.39 / Muhammad 2.15
Takedown accuracy: Edwards 31% / Muhammad 31%
Takedown defense: Edwards 70% / Muhammad 83%
Submissions per 15 minutes: Edwards 0.41 / Muhammad 0.23
UFC Picks
Edwards simply has fought at a much higher level throughout his career and should clearly be the better fighter in this matchup. The question is whether you want to play him at these odds - we feel there's value anywhere around the -250 range and up. Your other option is to take the victory bet that he wins by decision, as Muhammad has only been finished once in his career.
UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad Card & Odds
Welterweight: Belal Muhammad +213 vs. Leon Edwards -264
Middleweight: Eryk Anders +150 vs. Darren Stewart -181
Heavyweight: Philipe Lins -107 vs. Ben Rothwell -117
Light Heavyweight: Ryan Spann -102 vs. Misha Cirkunov -122
Bantamweight: Davey Grant +246 vs. Jonathan Martinez -308
Welterweight: Matthew Semelsberger -127 vs. Jason Witt +103
Women's Strawweight: Jinh Yu Frey +150 vs. Gloria de Paula -181
Bantamweight: Ray Rodriguez +235 vs. Rani Yahya -293
Featherweight: Dan Ige -127 vs. Gavin Tucker +103
Women's Flyweight: Cortney Casey +121 vs. JJ Aldrich -145
Featherweight: Marcelo Rojo +203 vs. Charles Jourdain -250
Women's Strawweight: Ashley Yoder +290 vs. Angela Hill -371
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! Real-time spreads, totals, props, and money lines are all available so start betting with BookMaker today.
