A long-awaited title shot for British UFC Welterweight contender Leon Edwards may finally come to fruition this year.
As we now enter the thick of UFC London fight week: coverage and interviews are everywhere you look. This Saturday’s card, headlined by heavyweights Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov has been long-awaited, to say the least, with the last time the UFC appeared in London being 2019.
This Thursday, BT Sport put on a live preview show involving the likes of Dana White, Michael Bisping, and Leon Edwards. Edwards was first up to the table; touching on his desire to fight for the 170-pound belt, the cancellation of UFC London in 2020, and more.
Leon has been consistently calling for a rematch with Welterweight champ Kamaru Usman over the past couple of years. One look at his record tells you why. He is currently on a 10 fight unbeaten streak and has wins over names such as Vicente Luque, Donald Cerrone, and Rafael Dos Anjos. With this kind of resume, Leon’s next fight seems to be for that UFC gold.
Dana looking to make Kamaru Usman vs Leon Edwards this year
UFC boss Dana White then showed up to talk all things UK MMA. The conversation moved onto #3 ranked Leon Edwards, and the big question arose:
“I’m wishing for nothing but good luck for Edwards this year, he’s had a rough run.”
Former Middleweight champion Michael Bisping then asked:
“Is that on? The Kamaru Usman fight?”
Dana: “Usman – we’re waiting for his hand to get cleared. His hand gets cleared, and [Leon] has got the fight.”
Dana also said that International Fight Week, (June 27th-July 3rd) could potentially be the date for the clash.
Usman recently underwent hand ligament surgery, hence the extra months needed until his return. Kamaru faced UFC 272’s main event winner, Colby Covington, in November and earned a Unanimous Decision victory in their grudge match.
Edward’s last fight was against the popular Nate Diaz, who he beat in an impressive decision win. Despite Diaz rocking Edwards in the last minute of the fight, he failed to finish and Leon won the bout 49-46 x3.
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Featured image credits to UFC
