Edwards vs Muhammad – what you need to know

Last week was full of drama as titles were retained and lost, streaks were ended and plenty of action was had. It is another exciting card this week as we stay in Las Vegas for a headline event that sees the return of UK athlete Leon Edwards.

On an eight-win streak, Edwards has been desperate to get back in the Octagon^®, and now he finally has his bout. He is known for utilising his versatility as he looks to control bouts, often winning via decisions after going the distance to the end of the final round. ‘Rocky’ has never been finished in a bout in his professional career, showing his resilience and determination to win.

Belal Muhammad is also in great form having won four bouts consecutively and will be confident of causing an upset. He also tends to win bouts via decision only finishing five of his 18 professional victories, so this bout will be a tactical clash between two of the most patient welterweight athletes. With both Edwards and Muhammad holding an 18-3 record this is sure to be an unmissable fight.

Superman looks to bounce back

This clash in the light heavyweight division will be a battle to break into the top 10 as Misha Cirkunov and Ryan Spann are the no.11 and no.13 ranked contenders respectively.

Hoping to act as kryptonite, Misha Cirkunov is striving to find consistency after only winning two of his last five bouts. He won his most recent bout via submission, using the Peruvian necktie to finish Jimmy Crute. Regardless of whether he wins or loses, Cirkunov very rarely needs to go the distance, with only two of his 20 professional bouts coming down to decisions, both of which he won.

His last bout saw him suffer defeat after an eight-bout win streak, Ryan Spann will be looking for redemption. On his win streak he recorded five first round finishes and will be looking to get off to an explosive start here to give himself the advantage. He has won 11 bouts via submission, his favoured lock being the guillotine which he has utilised to win seven bouts.

Dragon in danger

This bout sees two featherweight athletes come into this one off the back of two consecutive victories. A win for either fighter here would go a long way in landing them a bout with one of the top contenders.

After a hot 7-0 start to his MMA career, Jonathon Martinez has registered a respectable 6-3 since. He is a fierce striker and has recorded seven career KOs, both his fists and knees are lethal. He is yet to be finished in his career, two of his career defeats were via decisions, the other was a DQ.

The second Brit on the main card, and hot off the back of two convincing wins, Davey Grant will be confident of getting a victory here. He is primarily a grappler, winning eight of his professional bouts by submitting his opponents. However, his last bout saw him win via strikes. As much as his grapple is his main strength offensively it is his biggest defensive flaw, all four of his career defeats were via submission. If he can get the upper hand when grappling he should be able to tame the dragon.