Colby Covington 'is a disgusting human being to the core', according to Belal Muhammad. 

The UFC welterweight challenger to Leon Edwards' belt at UFC 296 used comments about the Brit's late father to try and rile him up in a move Muhammad says exposed his American compatriot as 'souless'. 

Edwards' father was murdered when 'Rocky' was 13 and the vile digs provoked a strong reaction, with the champion later admitting he was in tears of rage backstage after the press conference. 

He did not let the comments deter him, winning a decision at T-Mobile Arena before parading his belt at Villa Park at the weekend.  

'Honestly, it was pathetic,' Muhammad told MMA Fighting: 'It shows you what his real character is. People were like, 'He's playing a role,' but when you go that low, that's not playing a role. That's what you have truly inside of you. You're soulless. You're really a disgusting person – a disgusting human being, true to the core.

He thought that would strike him emotionally, and it probably did, but he thought that it would affect him in the fight, and I don't think it affected him in the fight the way he thought it was.

'He probably thought Leon would run out real quick and try to go crazy from the start. Just the fact that you're doing that, saying that, it's pathetic.'

Muhammad is widely expected to be the next challenger for Edwards, who retained his belt with ease in Las Vegas against Covington. 

UFC 300 has been touted as a possible option for a rematch of a fight that ended following a horrendous eye poke two years ago. 

Muhammad would begin as the underdog but has been on a sensational run and not been beaten in his last ten fights.  

He was deeply unimpressed by Covington's attempt to win the belt in Las Vegas last month.  

He went on: 'Colby, his striking, I always said was amateurish, and every punch he landed, none of it hurt. The punches he was throwing were like cardio kickboxing punches.

 'Leon would just wait for it and then counter off it right away. Then once he started countering off it, Colby got afraid.'

Covington has now lost in every title fight he's had and it is difficult to see how he can rise back up to challenge again. 

After the defeat, which he maintains he should have won but for judges going against him for supporting Donald Trump, he called out Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson. 

While the veteran remains a wily competitor, there are harder fights, such as Shavkat Rakhmonov that would make more of an impact with victory.

Muhammad, it seems, will have his own chance to better Covington's attempt at Edwards this year and should provide stiff opposition for the Brit.