Leon Edwards says he has assurances of a welterweight title shot if he beats Tyron Woodley at UFC on ESPN+ 29 in March. If that comes to fruition, he has two massive potential scenarios on hand.
Edwards (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) said he’s not looking past Woodley (19-4-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC), but he’s very confident he’s going to take out the former UFC champ to extend his winning streak to nine fights. It seems a title fight between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal could play out in the meantime, and Edwards would be keen to fight the winner.
He’s somewhat torn on who he’d like to face, though. Edwards has an ongoing beef with Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) stemming from a physical exchange following UFC on ESPN+ 5 in March 2019 that saw “Gamebred” punch the Brit after they each scored big wins at the event. Edwards has been eager to have that matchup, and a belt on the line would make it even bigger.
“I feel that’s probably the biggest fight, against Masvidal, because of what happened between us backstage with all the history we have and all the bad blood we have,” Edwards told MMA Junkie.
Masvidal may be the biggest fight, but is it the one Edwards wants most? “Rocky” has lost one time in the past five years, and that was a unanimous decision to Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) at UFC on FOX 17 in December 2015. Neither man has lost since, and Edwards would love the chance to not only exact revenge on Usman, but take his belt, as well.
“I’d like Usman to have the belt because he’s the last person to beat me,” Edwards said. “I’d like to go out there and revenge the loss against the last person to beat me and then win the world title at the same time. That’s a fairy tale.”
However it shakes out, Edwards said he’ll be happy with the situation. Chances are he will see both men at some point, because Edwards said the belt is just kept warm until after he beats Woodley in the UFC on ESPN+ 29 headliner on March 18 at The O2 in London.
“I couldn’t give two (expletives), for real,” Edwards said. “I’ll see what happens. I’ll be champion no matter what. I’m just focused on Tyron Woodley for London, putting on a world-class performance, and stopping him to go on to fight for the world title.”
Leon Edwards expects title fight after UFC London, lays out 'fairy tale' scenario
