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Leon Edwards draws the line on future fights he’s willing to accept.
Welterweight contender Leon Edwards was ready to take on former champion Tyron Woodley in March in London. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire fight card ended up being scrapped.
These days, the number-four ranked 170-pounder isn’t willing to take on any other fight, unless it will boost his stock as a fighter.
“For me, it has to be someone above me,” Edwards told MMA Junkie. “I’ve worked too hard to get into this position to be fighting Top 10. I’ve the second-most wins in the division compared to the champion, so I truly believe that I deserve a world title shot already.
“So the only way I’ll fight again is either (a) title shot or the No. 1 contender spot. There’s no point of me going backwards and fighting someone in the Top 10, because it’ll defeat the point of me getting to this position.
“(The) only reason I wanted to fight Woodley was because he was a former world champion and the Usman fight was taken away from me because of Masvidal, so anyone above me is the only option right now,” he added.
The 28-year-old Edwards is currently on an eight-fight win streak. The biggest win of his career took place last July, when he defeated former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos.