Dana confirms Edwards as next challenger for welterweight belt against Usman

D. White at a UFC press conference. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube

After waiting for a chance, Leon edwards has a reason to smile. In a sequence of ten fights without losing, the Englishman will have the opportunity for a rematch against Kamaru Usman. In an interview with 'TSN', the president of Ultimate, Dana White, confirmed that the athlete will be the next challenger for the welterweight belt (up to 77kg.).

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"100 percent. That boy (Leon edwards) had a difficult race. He deserves. If you look at this, Colby (Covington lost to (Kamaru Usman) twice, Gilbert lost, Leon is next. He’s number three,” White said.

Leon edwards, in fact, is proof that being available to face 'scary' fighters allows the athlete to leverage his name in the company. Dana White cited the case of when he scheduled an Englishman's fight against Khamzat Shimaev. The fight, however, ended up not happening at the time.

"Leon edwards signed the contract to fight with him (Khamzat Shimaev) even though he was number three in the rankings at the time. So I wanted to make this clear, publicly, because he signed the contract, but Khamzat caught COVID. I'm bringing this up for a reason, as I said it and never gave this kid the credit he deserved. He said yes, signed the fight contract and was ready to fight”, he concluded.

Kamaru Usman e Leon edwards They faced each other in December 2015, at the time, still as two promises in the welterweight division. The duel was played on the preliminary card of 'UFC On Fox 17' and ended with the Nigerian winning the unanimous decision of the judges.

Third place in the welterweight rankings (up to 77kg.), Leon edwards comes in a sequence of ten fights without knowing what it's like to be defeated, including victories over Vincent Luque, Donald Cerrone, Rafael dos Anjos e Nate diaz. In his career, he now has a record of 19 positive results and three negative results.