Don’t expect Leon Edwards to fight anyone ranked below him in the near future.
Edwards is on an eight-fight winning streak and was expected to face former champion Tyron Woodley in the UFC London headliner last month. Of course, that card was eventually canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Woodley has since targeted fights with the likes of Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington while Edwards has been stuck in the United Kingdom due to travel restrictions.
Ideally, “Rocky” wants to compete against Woodley next. But if that’s not the case, he will only face fighters ranked above him.
“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.”
The UFC has an “interesting” alternative for Masvidal according to Dana White. So perhaps, Edwards could be in line for a title shot or even a grudge match with Masvidal.
It all hinges on whether he can travel to the United States in the near future.
Who do you think Edwards will fight next?