Leon Edwards eyes a stadium fight with his rival, Kamaru Usman, in March of next year after dethroning the former champ at UFC 278.
This past August, Leon Edwards pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in MMA history when he KO’d the former Welterweight champ and pound-for-pound king with a thundering head kick with less than a minute left in the fight.
After being crowned the new Welterweight king, there was an immediate buzz for a trilogy between the two best 170 pounders. And it seems as if we’ll get that 3rd fight, but not until next year as Leon Edwards told Sky Sports’ Soccer AM.
“To have it back in Birmingham in Villa – I grew up in Aston as well where the Park is so that would be amazing. I don’t think there’s a roof though at Villa, so it would probably be a bit difficult to do in early next year around February/March/April.” (via Daily Mail)
Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman tentatively scheduled for March 2023
After Leon Edwards became the new Welterweight champ, there was some talk about a potential Jorge Masvidal grudge match as the two have had a long history between them. But it seems as if those talks are going to be put to the side, so Kamaru Usman can rightfully get an immediate rematch.
Usman is one of the most decorated fighters of all time and many believe he’s the 2nd greatest Welterweight fighter of all time behind Georges St-Pierre. So, it’s only right he gets a shot to earn his title back. Even though Usman has been cordial since losing his strap and has gone as far as saying he’d love to fight in the UK. But Leon Edwards has been sceptical about Usman’s humble routine.
“To go from this cocky guy to, ‘Oh, I’m happy I got knocked out, and it’s a relief’ – I just don’t believe it. For me, I’d hope I never get to a stage where a loss – you know, I’m happy for a loss. Yeah, it’s weird to handle it – it’s the only way he could. He couldn’t come out and be like, salty. I think he’s handling it the only way he can handle it. We’ll see, I don’t know.”
No matter what they think about each other, it seems as if the fight will go down in a stadium in the UK and will be one of the biggest MMA events in UK history.