Leon Edwards isn't short on challengers that are hoping to earn a shot at his UFC welterweight title.
The champion has already defended the belt twice, against Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, and now looks to add a third ruby to his 170-pound title when facing Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 later this month.
Despite having other potential candidates waiting in the wings, it also appears to be a matter of time before the champion in the weight class below looks to conquer a second division.
Lightweight and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev spoke after his latest defense at UFC 302 about his goals to fight at welterweight in the near future.
Edwards believes that with both he and Makhachev on similar paths, the fight is likely to take place.
Leon Edwards Says Islam Makhachev Just Beat His First Lightweight Contender At UFC 302
During a recent interview with talkSPORT MMA, Edwards made reference to the fact that Makhachev's first two title defenses didn't come against a lightweight contender.
Some may argue that his wins over the featherweight champion at the time, Alexander Volkanovski (who was also at the top of the pound-for-pound list), make his case for moving up and trying for a second belt even stronger.
Having given Volkanovski this opportunity on two occasions, Makhachev believes that he is due his chance to do the same.
However, despite believing that his submission win against Poirier was Makhachev's first title defense against a contender in his division, Edwards did acknowledge that they will both be on the same amount of total defenses if he is able to get past Muhammad on July 27.
He believes that this will likely line them up for a champion versus champion clash at some point although he does also have his own intentions to move up a weight class during his championship reign.
For sure, I feel like we've got work to do within the division. I feel like Islam just fought the first actual lightweight, he beat Volk, but this is the first actual lightweight he's fought within the division. He's on a three-defense streak, after I beat Belal, that'll be my third as well so we're both on similar paths. I can see that happening in the future. Also, I'd like to move up as well and challenge for the middleweight belt hopefully so whoever comes first.
