Leon Edwards expects to dethrone UFC champ Kamaru Usman, set up trilogy shortly after

LONDON – Leon Edwards plans on dethroning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman then facing him a third time right away.

Edwards (19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) is projected to get his long-awaited title shot against Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 UFC) on July 2 at UFC 276.

With Usman having already defended his title against the likes of Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington twice, Edwards expects to dance with Usman a third time after he aims to tie the series at one-a-piece.

“I believe so,” Edwards told MMA Junkie on Friday. “When I go out there and beat him – like I said, he’s been a dominant champion for a little while now, so when I got out there and take the belt off him, I can see No. 3 happening straight away. And from there, we figure out what’s next.”

Unbeaten in his past 10 fights, Edwards hasn’t lost since dropping a unanimous decision to Usman in December 2015. He acknowledges that both fighters have improved immensely since then but still thinks Usman will eventually go to his bread and butter of wrestling despite his much improved hands.

“I think he’ll try and come out and strike,” Edwards said. “Like I said, if you’re having success in one thing, you won’t stop it for a fight. You’ll try it. Once he sees he can’t have success there then he’ll resort back to his wrestling. We’re two different fighters now from when we last fought six, seven years ago, and I think if either of us approach the fight as if we were fighting the same guy six, seven years ago, we’re gonna lose. We’ve got to look at it as a brand new fight and approach it that way, and that’s how I’m approaching it.”