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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender, Leon Edwards, is currently sitting in the No. 4 spot at 170 pounds, thanks to an eight-fight win streak dating back to early 2016. Along the way, “Rocky” has defeated the likes of Donald Cerrone and Rafael dos Anjos, just to name a few.
But still can’t seem to get that title shot.
Neither can fellow welterweight contenders Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz, who will instead compete for an imaginary title called the “Bad Mother Fucker” belt in the UFC 244 pay-per-view (PPV) main event, which takes place this November inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The Brit remains unimpressed.
“Two men who can’t get the title,” Edwards told MMA Fighting. “It’s a journeyman mentality. They can’t get the world title so you create some fucking weird shit ass title. It’s a journeyman mentality. My thing is to get a world title shot. Let’s me and Kamaru (Usman) run it back. We’ve got the most wins in the division, we’re the two best in the division. Let’s run it back.”
Usman top Edwards by decision at UFC on FOX 17.
One of the reasons Edwards has been unable to secure a title shot is because it’s defended so infrequently, leaving a log jam at the top of the 170-pound division. Former interim champion, Colby Covington, was expected to be next in line, but still can’t seem to get the deal done with “unfair” UFC.
As for Usman, he was injured earlier this year but at this point, seems content to sit on the sidelines and let the rest of the competition fight it out. With November just around the corner, it’s hard to imagine the promotion getting “Nigerian Nightmare” to sign on the dotted line until the end of the year, or perhaps early 2020.