It appears that former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards is approaching confirmation of his return to action in the first quarter of next year.
Edwards hasn’t competed since losing his grip on the 170-pound crown at UFC 304 in Manchester this past July, where he was convincingly defeated by Belal Muhammad in their headline rematch.
“Rocky” has vowed to finish the new year with the gold back in his possession and announced that the path toward achieving that will start with a return in the main event of the UFC’s confirmed return to London on March 22.
A number of names have floated around regarding an opponent, from the seemingly unretired Jorge Masvidal to top-10 contenders Ian Garry and Sean Brady. But it seems that the frontrunner to share the cage with Edwards next is Jack Della Maddalena.
During a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Australian insider Benny P — who was the first to report on Khamzat Chimaev’s withdrawal from UFC Saudi Arabia this year and has a strong record when it comes to fight announcements — provided an update on Della Maddalena.
He corroborated a report from Alex Behunin on the welterweight contender’s likely absence from February’s Sydney pay-per-view, instead revealing the likelihood that the Aussie striker will instead headline the March UFC Fight Night in London opposite Edwards.
“It does seem like this is gonna happen, I’ve heard it from multiple sources from the JDM camp,” Benny P said. “I just can’t imagine that all these people are hearing this if there’s no weight to it. Especially because it doesn’t appear like it’s going to be Usman at all.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Usman, to be honest with you. I don’t know why Usman is out of this equation because it was looking very likely that it was going to be Usman vs. Jack Della, so I’m not sure what has happened to Usman — if he’s injured, if they found another opponent? But it does very likely we’re going to see Jack Della Maddalena vs. Leon Edwards in London, March 22.”
Della Maddalena hasn’t made the walk since a victory over Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 this past March. The Australian put his name in Comeback of the Year discussion by avoiding certain defeat on the scorecards with a late knockout.
The Perth native has now won 17 straight fights since an 0-2 start to his professional career, a run that includes a perfect 7-0 UFC record. With that in mind, a triumph over a recent champ in Edwards would likely secure the #4-ranked contender a first title shot.
Though the bout with “Rocky” has not yet been made official by the promotion, plenty of bouts are already set for The O2 next March. That includes returns for Jan B?achowicz and Alonzo Menifield, as well as home favorites Mick Parkin, Molly McCann, and Christian Leroy Duncan.