Tag: leon edwards

Report: Leon Edwards Turned Down Fights With Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Khamzat Chimaev

EdwardsLeon Edwards is not in the best situation right now. Having not competed since July 2019 and having turned down a number of fights since, the Birmingham native was recently removed from the UFC’s welterweight rankings. Now we have more information on the situation according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani as it turns out Edwards declined […]

Edwards

Leon Edwards is not in the best situation right now.

Having not competed since July 2019 and having turned down a number of fights since, the Birmingham native was recently removed from the UFC’s welterweight rankings.

Now we have more information on the situation according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani as it turns out Edwards declined a number of fights, including a short-notice title bout with Kamaru Usman.

“UFC officials have told Leon Edwards’ team that he is being removed from the UFC rankings, sources say. This comes following frustrations surrounding not being able to book his next fight. No comment yet from Edwards or UFC. Of course, they can do this since it is their rankings.

“After the Woodley fight fell through in March, the next offer came on short notice to fight Usman in July, then Covington when Woodley fight was iffy, then Geoff Neal and then Khamzat Chimaev on 12/19. Edwards didn’t agree to those fights.

“After the Chimaev fight was finally turned down, the rankings removal happened. This has happened before (Diaz, Nathan), and it doesn’t mean he’s released. He’s not. But it will be interesting to see how they repair the relationship.

“As for Chimaev, still no opponent yet. For whatever reason, Magny isn’t of interest to the brass so they are looking for other options right now, I’m told. Do they ultimately fall on Magny? Possible. But not at the moment.”

Although many were rightfully critical of the UFC’s decision to remove him from the rankings, it’s hard to defend Edwards now especially as Usman and Colby Covington were two fights he was previously campaigning for.

And now, it looks like he has reached the point where he is finally willing to fight Chimaev as he responded on Twitter.

“I’m still in the rankings. F*ck all the inactivity, the only reason I haven’t fought is because all these so called top guys turned me down. Khamzat want to fight then?”

Hopefully, we can see an Edwards vs. Chimaev fight headline the last show of the calendar year.

What do you make of these revelations?

Leon Edwards, Stephen Thompson Get Heated In Twitter Back-And-Forth

Edwards ThompsonThings are getting a bit heated between Leon Edwards and Stephen Thompson. Late last month, Thompson issued a call out to Edwards as he looks to get back into welterweight title contention. However, the Birmingham native hasn’t been receptive to the idea and instead wants to fight fighters ranked above him. That led to a […]

Edwards Thompson

Things are getting a bit heated between Leon Edwards and Stephen Thompson.

Late last month, Thompson issued a call out to Edwards as he looks to get back into welterweight title contention. However, the Birmingham native hasn’t been receptive to the idea and instead wants to fight fighters ranked above him.

That led to a “Wonderboy” response which included a bit of a dig at Edwards.

“@Leon_edwardsmma you’ve been out over a year now…if I’m on my way down then I should be a nice tune up fight to get people to remember your name again! #JustTryingToHelp #RingRust”

Edwards did not take too kindly to that.

“I know you didn’t write this tweet so I’ll forgive you this time. I don’t get ring rust I’m a championship fighter that stays in the gym. You was knocked out cold one fight ago by a lightweight. fighting you right now does nothing for me. #respectfully”

Thompson maintained it was him tweeting and decided to turn his attention elsewhere. But not before adding a few more digs.

“I may be new to this but it’s definitely me…my tweet game is better than I though lol. Whelp I guess the gym is where you’ll be “staying”! Like you said “nobody” wants to fight you…except me but that ain’t good enough for ya. Maybe we’ll see you in 2021! #StruckANerve”

Edwards clapped back soon after.

“Stephen, I respect you as a fighter but your 2-3 in your last 5. In the politest way possible just f*ck off and fight Chimaev, good luck”

Thompson is yet to respond at the moment but it is certainly a rare occurrence to see another fighter tell the self-proclaimed NMF to “f*ck off” no matter how politely it was done.

Meanwhile, Chimaev continues to look for a fight with Thompson.

How would you book fights for these three?

Leon Edwards Uninterested In Fighting Thompson Or Chimaev

Leon Edwards has joined Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the “uninterested in fighting Khamzat Chimaev” camp, and Edwards is not too keen on fighting Thompson, either. Leon Edwards has been open about his short-term goal for a while now: fighting for th…

Leon Edwards has joined Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the “uninterested in fighting Khamzat Chimaev” camp, and Edwards is not too keen on fighting Thompson, either. Leon Edwards has been open about his short-term goal for a while now: fighting for the world title ASAP. Given the fact that Edwards is currently riding an 8-fight winning […]

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Leon Edwards Claims Jorge Masvidal Turned Him Down To Get A Rematch With Nate Diaz

Leon Edwards has claimed Jorge Masvidal turned down a fight with him to pursue the Nate Diaz rematch instead. Ever since Masvidal gave Edwards the ‘three-piece and a soda’ backstage at UFC London in March of 2019 many fans wanted to see tha…

Leon Edwards has claimed Jorge Masvidal turned down a fight with him to pursue the Nate Diaz rematch instead. Ever since Masvidal gave Edwards the ‘three-piece and a soda’ backstage at UFC London in March of 2019 many fans wanted to see that fight happen. Yet, “Gamebred” went on to fight Ben Askren, Nate Diaz, […]

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Israel Adesanya, Leon Edwards & More Condemn Colby Covington’s Racist Comments

Israel AdesanyaColby Covington is in the firing line right now after comments he made post-fight at UFC Vegas 11. The welterweight contender was fresh off stopping Tyron Woodley this past weekend when he got into a heated debate with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on live TV. The pair exchanged barbs but one particular comment from Covington […]

Israel Adesanya

Colby Covington is in the firing line right now after comments he made post-fight at UFC Vegas 11. The welterweight contender was fresh off stopping Tyron Woodley this past weekend when he got into a heated debate with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on live TV.

The pair exchanged barbs but one particular comment from Covington has caused widespread outrage. ‘Chaos’ was bragging about receiving a post-fight call from President Donald Trump and simultaneously took what appeared to be a racist shot at Usman who is originally from Nigeria, he said.

“Who did you get a call from? Did you get a call from, freaking, your little tribe? Did they give you some smoke signals for you? “You’re a joke, Marty Fakenewsman!”

ESPN quickly pulled the clip from their social media platforms but that didn’t stop it from spreading like wildfire. Since UFC Vegas 11 several high profile, black fighters have spoken to MMA Fighting to condemn Covington and his overtly racist comments.

Israel Adesanya: “It just shows you the landscape of the media, what it is right now,” Adesanya said. “I made a joke about dropping [Yoel] Romero like the Twin Towers and everyone lost their mind, even if I said it was a joke and it was pretty funny, but people took it as I was being offensive and digging – but I was making a joke.

“This guy has directly insulted my culture, my brother and many other cultures and stuff and no one says anything. But it just shows you a mirror. Shows you a mirror to you guys. So yeah, I don’t really care. Kamaru Usman broke his jaw.”

Leon Edwards: “That’s what got me – the UFC has said nothing about it,” Edwards said. “ESPN has said nothing about it. Letting it flow like it’s a normal thing to f**king say and do and it’s not. Your tribe and smoke signals and blah, blah, blah, and he’s calling Woodley a terrorist because of Black Lives Matter. All these statements he’s making is racist. There’s no other way to go around it.”

Hakeem Dawodu: “I found them extremely rude, racist,” Dawodu said. “I’m kind of surprised he’s allowed to talk free like that. You know everyone’s allowed to talk freely, but I took offense to it. It’s crazy that it’s comments like that causing more and more of a divide amongst the people. So that’s how he gets down, but I’m not really with that, and I took offense to that for sure.

“That’s racist. They were almost worried about my walkout song, and he’s going to be saying stuff like that and that’s crazy, especially on such a big stage. I feel like that’s only going to promote more and more divide and cause more and more issues. He’s got the president calling him, backing him up on that. I don’t really appreciate it, and that’s how it is I guess.”

Sijara Eubanks: “Let’s be real first and foremost, it wasn’t unfortunate, it was flat out racist what Colby was saying,” Eubanks said. “It was racist, it was disgusting and quite frankly disappointing. But at the same time, the one thing I do appreciate is the UFC lets whoever say whatever. They have never muzzled us as fighters. If you want to talk, don’t want to talk. If you want to be political, you don’t want to be political. I have to appreciate that the company lets us say what we want.

Do you agree with Israel Adesanya and these other fighters? Is Colby Covington being let off the hook despite making racist comments?

Stephen Thompson Issues Nice Guy Call Out Of Leon Edwards

Stephen Thompson has called out Leon Edwards. Thompson, who is considered one of the nicest fighters in MMA, has taken to social media to call out the Englishman. “Wonderboy” is someone who doesn’t call anyone out and says he will fig…

Stephen Thompson has called out Leon Edwards. Thompson, who is considered one of the nicest fighters in MMA, has taken to social media to call out the Englishman. “Wonderboy” is someone who doesn’t call anyone out and says he will fight anyone as he just wants to compete and showcase his skills. Yet, that has […]

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