Deluded Novice

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will try (for the third time) to separate contender from pretender when Leon Edwards collides with Khamzat Chimaev in the upcoming UFC Vegas 21 welterweight headliner on March 13 at APEX on ESPN+.

Edwards expects a win over “Borz” to earn him a division title shot.

“I’m going out there for the finish,” Edwards told Submission Radio. “I feel like I need to get a finish to prove my case, to make a stronger case for the world title. Colby (Covington) got knocked out under a year ago. (Jorge) Masvidal got beat under a year ago. I’m on the most fight win streak in the division, apart from the champion. So, like I said, this is my ninth win in a row, and so that’s it, really. I feel like I’ve done more than everyone else, and it’s now my time for a title shot.”

Edwards (18-3) has won eight in a row and is currently ranked No. 3 in the welterweight division. The recently-ranked Chimaev (9-0), meanwhile, has only been competing for UFC since last July but talks like he’s already cleaned out the division.

Thanks to constant praise from UFC President Dana White.

“There’s being confident, then there’s being deluded. I think he’s deluded,” Edwards continued. “And obviously if everyone blows smoke up your ass, then you’re gonna start believing it. And if that’s all it is and everyone blows smoke up his ass that he’s the best thing since sliced bread, so you’re gonna start believing it. I think that’s all it is.”

Sounds like the bookies believe it too.

“If he’s judging me on the Usman fight which is like five, six years ago, then he’s in for a rude awakening,” Edwards said. “I’ll tell you that. What’s he got to offer, really? I think he’s a novice for what he does. The shots he throws, the technique he uses is quite novice. And I remember being there, I remember being a 9-0 guy, you know what I mean?”

To see who else is fighting at UFC Vegas 21 click here.