Leon Edwards waited over 600 days for his chance to compete in the Octagon again. Belal Muhammad was looking to take full advantage of his opportunity to earn a win over a top-ranked UFC welterweight and shoot up the rankings.
Unfortunately for both men, they left the cage with their wishes unfulfilled after their contest was ruled a No Contest early in the second round after Edwards unintentionally caught Muhammad with a gruesome eye poke.
You can read up on how all of the fights went down here.
Here is how Edwards and Muhammad’s fellow fighters reacted to the UFC Vegas 21 main fight card on social media.
Leon Edwards – Belal Muhammad ruled a no-decision
My heart is shattered my first main event ended like that but Gods the best of planners im sorry to the fans and the @ufc you deserved a full fight.. Alhamdillah the vision is coming back and no permanent damage to the eye I’ll be back and want to run it back @Leon_edwardsmma pic.twitter.com/5xsvhmZ5Uh
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) March 14, 2021
What in the hell is going on??? Unintentional but damn man. That’s so so shitty. So many fouls, so many fouls. #UFCVegas21
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 14, 2021
Gutted for the Main Event,
Run it back ASAP!!!!— D (@darrentill2) March 14, 2021
Maaaan, Leon was looking super slick. Fakes, stance changes, everything looking great. Shit to see it end like that. Hope belal is okay 🙏🏻
— Lando Vannata (@GroovyLando) March 14, 2021
We need new gloves. Period!
They’re out there. I just don’t understand what we’re waiting for to make these changes. How many more eye injuries do we need to bring these new gloves in, that significantly reduce the spreading of the fingers.#UFCVegas21
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 14, 2021
Ryan Spann def. Misha Cirkunov by TKO
Dan Ige def. Gavin Tucker by KO
Wow man ige timed that right hand perfectly
— Brian BOOM Kelleher (@brianboom135) March 14, 2021
Davey Grant def. Jonathan Martinez by TKO
Grant with the knockouts 👌🏿
— Bonecrusher 🇨🇩🇬🇧☠️ (@Marc_Diakiese) March 14, 2021
Matheus Nicolau def. Manel Kape by split decision
Nicolau with the split decision victory!
Very close fight, but I thought Kape had the edge.#UFCVegas21— Herbert Burns (@HerbertBurnsMMA) March 14, 2021
Good fight there , flyweights baby
— Brian BOOM Kelleher (@brianboom135) March 14, 2021
I thought Kape took the 2nd and 3rd. Tough break for him.
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 14, 2021
Eryk Anders – Darren Stewart ruled a no-decision
1000 apologies to @Darren_mma. I know he wanted to keep going. I made a critical error in the heat of the moment and it cost us and the fans a barn burner.
— Eryk Anders (@erykanders) March 14, 2021
Come on bro these guys don’t know the rules 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️ some Dumb shit #UFCVegas21
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) March 14, 2021
Dude! Did we somehow forget what it means to be a grounded opponent!
— Neil Magny (@NeilMagny) March 14, 2021
YOU CANT KNEE SOMEONE IN THE HEAD WHEN THEY ARE DOWN
— Kevin MTP Lee (@MoTownPhenom) March 14, 2021
Same illegal strike but no extra show 🤥
— Chito Vera (@chitoveraUFC) March 14, 2021
Jake Hughes is an MMA writer who has covered the sport since 2013 for publications such as Vice Sports, Fightland, Sherdog and now Fighters Only, where he serves as freelance digital editor.