Reigning UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards, plans to make his next title defense on October 21 at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi as the organization scrapped the idea of holding another numbered event in London this summer.
According to the Briton, on July 22, the capital of Great Britain will host the UFC Fight Night series tournament.
“I would like to fight towards the end of the year and the card in Abu Dhabi suits me perfectly – I will just have time to heal all the injuries and prepare well,” the Briton told Sky Sports. “I was talking to Dana White about it and he said London is out of the question – London is hosting UFC Fight Night.”
As for the opponent, the most likely contender for the title remains Colby Covington, who occupies the second line in the division ranking, although Edwards is ready to fight both Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad.
“I think it will still be Colby, although there is no clear number one contender in the division right now. Colby lost twice and closed the losses with one win. Gilbert Burns has a similar situation. I won ten fights in a row to fight for the title.”
“Whichever one of them comes next, Colby, Gilbert, or Belal, it doesn’t matter to me – they are all similar to each other, and the plan for the fight will be the same. None of them scare me, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Edwards also mentioned that British heavyweight Tom Aspinall, who plans to return to the octagon after a knee injury, could head the UFC Fight Night tournament in London.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/31293-leon-edvards-soobshchil-ob-otmene-nomernogo-turnira-ufc-v-londone.html?rand=19907
