Leon Edwards shocked the entire world of mixed martial arts last night by knocking out the pound-for-pound king Kamaru Usman at UFC 278.
UFC President Dana White believes the next logical move would be to bring the newly crowned champion back to England to make the first defence of his championship.
The Jamaican-born Birmingham-raised was 60-seconds away from the opportunity passing him by as Usman was in full control after five rounds. In Edward’s last attempt at producing the unthinkable, he was able to land a clean head kick to knock Usman out cold.
During the post-fight press conference, White stated it made perfect sense to have Edwards return to compete in front of a home crowd, following the success of the recent back-to-back sold-out London shows.
Dana White Talks Bringing Leon Edwards Back to the UK
“We can go to England whenever the hell we want to now. We were selling out England before, now you just start looking at bigger arenas… you know, I’m scared to go outside, I’m definitely scared to go outside in England.
“I’m serious but joking about Wembley, but I mean, anything is possible in England now. It would be fun [Wembley], but scary at the same time. The weather isn’t the greatest over there in England.” White said.
Edwards, encouraged by White’s words, doubled down and agreed it would be a special moment fighting in England. The thirty-year-old is happy to be play prove you don’t need to leave the UK to become the best.
“Nah, Wembley for sure, 100 per-cent, Wembley has to be done. This has never been done before, having a guy from Birmingham in the UK, I did it from the UK. I know Bisping did it first but he did it from living in America. It’s hard for people like me to relate to say ‘we can do it as well’. Said the new welterweight champion.
“I made a point to stay in the UK to achieve this to show the guys coming up that if you believe in your country, believe in your team, you can achieve it, that’s what I did. From a little small gym in Birmingham. It’s a crazy story. Being born in Jamaica and winning the UFC world title, it’s a mad story.
How likely is it that we see the trilogy between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman occur in Wembley Stadium?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
