UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad says that “mentally weak” Leon Edwards will come up short in his return to action in London this weekend.

Edwards will seek to rebound from his loss in nearly a decade last summer to Muhammad when he takes on Sean Brady inside the O2 Arena in the English capital on Saturday night, in what is a pivotal fight for ‘Rocky’ if he is to harbour realistic ambitions of regaining the UFC’s 170-pound world title.

But Muhammad, who is scheduled to defend his crown against Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena later this year, says that the manner in which he comprehensively outpointed Edwards in Manchester, England last summer suggests that his rival will stare down the barrel of defeat for a second fight in a row soon after the cage door closes in London this weekend.

“This guys full of excuses that’s why Brady will beat him,” Muhammad wrote in a post to social media.

“I predict once Brady gets him down two or three times he’ll find a submission,” the champ added, “because Leon’s weak mentally and he’ll have flashbacks from what I did to him.”

Muhammad knows a lot about both competitors, having shared a cage with Edwards on two occasions in addition to his October 2022 win over Brady — the sole loss of the Philly native’s professional mixed martial arts career.

For his part, Brady is determined to use Edwards as a springboard to a rematch with Muhammad down the line.

“I truly believe that I am the better fight between me and him,” he said on his YouTube channel, as noted by BJPenn.com. “But I’m focusing on Sean Brady right now, and I just have to go out there in London, get rid of [Edwards]. Then, once I get rid of him, then a title shot is next for me.”