Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender Leon Edwards, currently ranked No. 3 at 170 pounds, is campaigning to stay on the promotion’s March 13 fight card after original opponent, Khamzat Chimaev, was struck down by COVID-19 and forced to withdraw.
Paging Nate Diaz …
“Nate just dribbled for an hour about wanting to fight at 170 against winners… let’s see it then,” Edwards wrote on Twitter. “Eight fight win streak and No. 3 in the world. Let’s go if you still think you’re a real one.”
Diaz has yet to respond (and likely won’t).
Edwards (18-3) is also interested in bouts against Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington; however, it’s unlikely any of the aforementioned fighters would be willing to accept a high risk, low reward bout on short notice without financial incentive.
And a lowly “Fight Night” card is probably not worth the expense.
Hard to blame Edwards at this point, especially considering he only gets paid to fight and hasn’t competed in over a year. With Stephen Thompson hurt, the promotion will have some work to do in order to keep “Rocky” inside the cage.
Stay tuned.