VIDEO | Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad’s teams nearly come to blows after UFC 304 press conference

Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad’s teams had to be separated by security personnel immediately following the UFC 304 press conference.

Edwards will defend his UFC welterweight title on Saturday in the UFC 304 main event in Manchester. He returns to the Octagon for a rematch with Muhammad, after their first fight resulted in a no-contest in 2021.

Ahead of fight night, tensions have ramped up as the pay-per-view headliner draws near. After a heated UFC 304 press conference, members of Edwards and Muhammad’s teams got into it in front of the stage.

Bad blood boils with Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad’s teams

Watch the post-event incident below involving Edwards and Muhammad’s corners.

https://twitter.com/ChampRDS/status/1816536804012753026

Luckily, the verbal altercation didn’t turn physical, and Edwards and Muhammad weren’t directly involved in the incident.

Edwards earned the UFC welterweight title in come-from-behind fashion by knocking out Kamaru Usman with a head kick. Just months later, he won their rematch at UFC 286 to cement himself as the new UFC welterweight champion.

Edwards defeated Colby Covington in his most recent title defense in December at UFC 296. He was rumored to face Muhammad at UFC 300, but the fight didn’t come to fruition.

UFC 304 marks the return to Manchester for the first time since 2016. UFC 204 was headlined by Michael Bisping’s first middleweight title defense against Dan Henderson.

Muhammad’s first shot at UFC gold comes after a 10-fight unbeaten streak inside the Octagon. He most recently defeated former title challenger Gilbert Burns in a five-round bout at UFC 288.

Muhammad has defeated the likes of Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, and Demian Maia in pursuit of the Edwards rematch. If he wins this weekend, he’ll become the UFC’s first Palestinian titleholder.

Edwards and Muhammad are both fired up to put on a show this weekend at UFC 304. Ahead of their walkouts, things are ramping up between the two sides and their teams.