Leon Edwards may not be fighting Tyron Woodley on Saturday, but it hasn’t stopped the two from trading barbs.
Woodley mocked Edwards in a recent interview with ESPN, claiming that Edwards’ backstage altercation with Jorge Masvidal was the “biggest capital L” he’s seen in a long time.
But Edwards (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) thinks Woodley is just trying to grab headlines, taking aim at his rap career in response to his comments.
“His rapping career is the biggest ‘L,’” Edwards told MMA Junkie. “That’s the biggest ‘L’ – his rapping. I don’t know. I think he had nothing to say. He’s talking about something that happened two years ago. Like, no way he hasn’t seen that video. He’s just using something to mention to keep his name relevant, really. It is what it is. It doesn’t bother me.”
The two were scheduled to headline the March 21 card in London before the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And with the travel ban restrictions forcing Edwards to withdraw, Woodley (19-4-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) moved on and will be facing Gilbert Burns in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 9 headliner, instead.
Edwards, who’s targeting a late summer return, thinks Woodley probably won’t be next for him, considering it’s highly unlikely the former champion opts to make a quick turnaround.
“If Woodley wins, he probably won’t fight now until the end of the year, so I cannot wait until that long to compete,” Edwards said. “I want to compete this summer – latest, early September. But I would prefer in the summertime. So if any of them fight – it depends who wins. If it’s Burns, it’s probably a faster turnaround. Woodley will probably be a longer situation.”
So should Burns emerge victorious, Edwards would consider fighting him next, but only under one condition.
“If it’s a guaranteed No. 1 contender spot,” Edwards said. “If not then no.”
Although there’s been quite a bit of back-and-forth between Edwards and Woodley, Edwards isn’t too bothered about potentially losing out on the fight.
“The only reason I was going to fight him was because he’s like, ‘I’m the best welterweight of all time,’ and I truly believe that I am better,” Edwards said. “So there’s no bad blood between me and him. I don’t know him. So all it is, I wanted to compete against him. He says he’s the best. I know I’m the best. So that’s all it was, and that’s where it stops.
Leon Edwards fires back at Tyron Woodley: Your rapping career is the biggest 'L'