If he gets past Belal Muhammad this weekend, Leon Edwards will have earned his shot at Kamaru Usman.
A win over Belal Muhammad at UFC Vegas 21 this weekend will earn Leon Edwards a welterweight title shot, according to UFC president Dana White.
Edwards (18-3) hasn’t fought in the UFC since defeating Rafael Dos Anjos in July 2019. The Brit’s last four scheduled fights have all been scratched due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Three of those cancellations have been bookings with Khamzat Chimaev, with the other against Tyron Woodley last March.
Chimaev was forced to pull out of UFC Vegas 21 due to lingering coronavirus symptoms. Muhammad accepted the fight just five days after his win over Dhiego Lima at UFC 258.
“100 percent [he’s next],” White told BT Sport when asked about Edwards’ chances for a title shot with a win at UFC Vegas 21. (via MMA Fighting)
Currently ranked at #3 in the UFC welterweight rankings, Edwards has won eight straight fights in the UFC. The division’s champion Kamaru Usman was the last fighter to hand Edwards a loss, defeating ‘Rocky’ by decision in 2015.
Before Edwards gets his shot, it seems likely the UFC will book a rematch between Usman and Jorge Masvidal. The pair met last July at UFC 251 with Usman winning a unanimous decision. Masvidal stepped up for that fight on less than a week’s notice.
“[Usman] was telling me that he doesn’t like the fact that Masvidal has an excuse,” White said. “So he said, ‘I want to make it so this guy has a great camp and then there’s no excuses.’”