© Provided by MMAJunkie LAS VEGAS - Belal Muhammad can't wait to get his hands on Colby Covington.
Muhammad (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) knows he has an opportunity to break into title contention with a win when he takes on Leon Edwards at UFC Fight Night 187, which takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
With UFC president Dana White promising Edwards a title shot with a win, Muhammad is looking to steal the Brit's opportunity. But if a win doesn't lead to a crack at the title, there's one man Muhammad would be more than happy to face instead.
"I'm not going to be one of those guys that's going to sit, especially if it's Colby Covington," Muhammad told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at UFC Fight Night 187 media day. "After this fight, that's who's next and I hate that guy's guts. If I ever see that guy in the street I'm hitting him.
"Obviously - that's a fight I would want before Usman, because stylistically that's a fight that makes sense and that's going to prepare you for the Usman fight, who's the champion. So for me, it's just keeping the momentum going. If I could keep fighting, if God willing I'm healthy, I win this fight and if they wanna get me back here a month later against Colby, why not? I'm down."
Muhammad has wanted to fight Covington (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) for years. After defeating Tim Means in 2017 in Sydney, he proceeded to call out Covington. But Muhammad explained that his desire to fight Covington isn't only because of his place in the rankings - he's just not a fan of him personally.
"I just hate evil people," Muhammad said. "You could sit there and say, 'It's a character, it's that.' But you wanna say the things that he says and the way that he talks about people, the way he disrespects people? I'm from Chicago so those types of people, we don't let you talk like that. So if you say something like that about people I know, people I respect, you're gonna get slapped, you're gonna get hurt. It's not gonna happen, so for me, this is a sport.
"It's martial arts, so it's about respecting people. . The way he's disrespected religion, the way he's disrespected Khabib who's like the face of the Muslim MMA community. For him to do something like that and to think, 'It's all part of the act.' This ain't no act. When we see face to face, you're gonna know that your act just got you beat up.
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