Leon Edwards' coach reveals back 'niggle' hampered ability to grapple in UFC 304 loss

Coach Dave Lovell says Leon Edwards fought injured at UFC 304.

Edwards (22-4 MMA, 14-3 UFC) was outgrappled by Belal Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) for five rounds, losing his welterweight title in Saturday’s main event at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. Edwards’ head coach, Lovell, revealed that Edwards was dealing with a nagging back injury during training camp, which limited him in his performance.

“I’m not making any kind of excuses for him, but we had a few niggles in camp,” Lovell told Submission Radio. “His back was niggling him, so he couldn’t wrestle the way he really needed to offensively and defensively because of the niggle that recurred about maybe two, three times. Well, not taking nothing away from Belal’s performance, you know. He did well, he done well. The best man won on the night, but Leon will be back.”

Lovell said the thought of withdrawing did cross his mind, but Edwards was keen on fighting after having not competed since a December title defense vs. Colby Covington at UFC 296.

“Well, believe it or not, we had a powwow about it, and I was very dubious because these niggles was going on for about maybe, five or so weeks on and off,” Lovell said. “He had to go to a chiropractor, regular massages. But again, after one session it was back to Square 1.

“So in the back part of my mind, you know, I was thinking, well, should we go for this? But because he hadn’t fought for so long, Leon said he wanted it. So we just pushed forward with the injury, trained through the injury and try to, you know, get through and get a victory. Unfortunately, it never happened.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.