Javier Mendez believes Belal Muhammad can defeat Leon Edwards this weekend.
Edwards and Muhammad will headline UFC 304 on Saturday in Manchester, with Edwards' welterweight championship on the line. It'll be the second time the fighters have squared off, with the first meeting ending in a no contest due to an accidental eye poke.
Both men have been unstoppable since that 2021 bout, and now Muhammad gets the opportunity to exact his revenge and claim a title, which is something Mendez thinks could happen.
Speaking to Instant Casino, Mendez explained how Muhammad could best Edwards while noting that the champion is even better than he was before.
"I'm backing Belal Muhammad against Leon," Mendez said. "I never go against anybody that I know, I'm pro Belal.
"His best chance I think is on the inside brawling and grappling. But Leon is the complete package now, so it's a very hard fight - what he’s got do is get on the inside, probably take a lot of punishment and is going to have to dish it out, and he's gonna have to go to the grind, he can’t give Leon distance in this fight.
"It’s got to be in close quarters, it’s got to be in a phone booth. In my opinion he's got to make this a phone booth fight, if he gives distance to Leon, Leon is going to be technically too good and too fast."
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