I think every champion deserves one layup defense and Belal is an easy fight for Leon...

[Fatback96]

If that’s the case he already cashed in his gimme fight in Colby.

 

[CatchtheseHands]

After Saturday Night, Belal will be a harder fight than Colby..

 

[Istryker]

That was Colby.

 

[BangBang]

Easy work.

 

[LDC93]

Colby was his layup

 

[old school 2]

Layup or not. He’s next in line.

And champions should never call people out. Just fight the next fighter in line that makes sense. Though now it’s commonplace to call out the champion in a heavier weightclass. And obviously is a different matter.

Usman calling out Masvidal for a rematch obliterated his legacy in my eyes. There’s no coming back from that level of lame cherry picking.

Belal is certainly next in line and I don’t havea problem with him being next BUT he is a boring fighter with a lot of decision wins ….,so if they fast tracked Shavkat with 19 fights, 29 wins and 19 finishes around him then I wouldn’t complain about that either.

 

[AfroBanana]

Belal deserves it. He does however seem like more of the same. He’s Leon’s “type” to thrive against.

Shavkat definitely seems like he’s more than just a wrestle boxer that lacks finishing ability for the most part.

The thing Belal has to challenge Leon seems unlikely at this point. Leon is looking physically strong and technically sound enough now for that.

Comparing how you fight Sean Brady and Leon is like comparing Chad Mendes and Cory Sandhagen.

 

[jko1355]

I can't remember who Belal is so.. I'd rather see Leon vs Shavkat

 

[welcometohavoc]

Leon became champion and was immediately put back into the fire against Usman and Colby. Not fair, IMO. Looking back, of course, Colby wasn’t a difficult fight, but many people thought the real Colby could beat Leon. Colby fought scared and no one knew that'd happen.

I think Leon DESERVES a layup defense against Belal. Shavkat would be completely unfair to Leon. Shavkat should be after Belal.

Agree?

I'd expect to hear this from the champ himself, but not from a fan.

As a fan, you should always want the best possible fight matchups

 

[mjfan23]

So each champ should be treated like Bo Nickals at least once?

 

[CieloLuce]

It should be you earn your TS and you defend who comes next. Not cherry pick the challenger. Saying all that Belal deserves it and it will not be easy for either opponent, but goddamn its going to be a boring fight the only ill intent will be point fighting.

 

[SuperNerd]

Only if Edwards fights TS

 

[Dionysian]

lol @ the guy who had 0 wins over active UFC fighters over the past half decade fighting after 2 years of sitting on a couch at age 36 not being a gimme fight.

2023 Colby was the very definition of a layup if there ever was one vs the WW champ.

 

[Thepaintbucket]

Colby was the layup defense as someone else said. Belal earned the next TS but it wouldn't be a complete crime to have Shavkat fight for the title instead

 

[Laheys'Liquorland]

What's his name?

 

[MDoza]

I agree, but Leon has acted like he doesn’t want to fight Belal.

In Leon’s situation, it should be “every champion deserves to pick their fight after a few title defenses”. Leon got bullied into fighting both Colby and now Belal.

 

[Bork Neslar]

Belal is going to make Leah tap from strikes... If he doesn't run away from the fight.

 

[don't ask]

Lmfao...what was Colby??

This is what I was thinking. He just had his lay-up defence.

 

[Mmmmmmma1234]

Leon became champion and was immediately put back into the fire against Usman and Colby. Not fair, IMO. Looking back, of course, Colby wasn’t a difficult fight, but many people thought the real Colby could beat Leon. Colby fought scared and no one knew that'd happen.

I think Leon DESERVES a layup defense against Belal. Shavkat would be completely unfair to Leon. Shavkat should be after Belal.

Agree?

This all makes no sense.
You could not ask for a bigger layup than Colby fight it wasn't even HARD sparring for Leon.

Saying Belal shot 'looks easier' makes no sense, he's younger and has a much better record than old man Colby.
And IF Leon looks at the fight as a gimme like you're pretending he's going to wind up like GSP vs Serra 1, Izzy vs Strickland, and any other champion who lost a supposed easy win.

"Hard work beats talent, unless talent works hard!"~ Steve Anderson

 

[JustforBROCK]

Its not a layup fight even thou Id bet on Edwards. BM is the exact same fighter that faced Edwards before. He hasnt changed at all - he's the same guy Edwards rocked with a head kick and was initiating grappling with and that was before he was champ.