Leon Edwards has confirmed the report that he was offered a UFC welterweight title shot at UFC 251.
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC turned to Edwards for a title opportunity against champion Kamaru Usman. Unfortunately for Edwards, he couldn’t make the trip due to the United Kingdom lockdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The title shot ended up going to Gilbert Burns.
Leon Edwards Reacts To Missing Out On UFC Title Shot
Edwards took to his Twitter account to reveal that he was indeed offered a welterweight title opportunity but he was unable to accept.
“For those asking, yes I got offered the shot before Gilbert. We couldn’t make it work this time. 2020 has been tough for me on this side of the world, as it has been for a lot of people, but fuck it, you can’t stop what is inevitable.”
Edwards vowed that he will capture UFC gold someday.
“The strap will be mine. Continue to stay safe everybody.”
Edwards is riding an eight-fight winning streak. He is coming off a unanimous decision victory over former UFC lightweight title holder Rafael dos Anjos. In his streak, Edwards has beaten the likes of dos Anjos, Gunnar Nelson, and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone to name a few. “Rocky” hasn’t suffered a defeat since Dec. 2015. That was a unanimous decision loss to Usman.
The UFC contacted Edwards after negotiations with Masvidal fell apart. Masvidal claimed he was only offered half of what he made for the Nate Diaz fight back in Nov. 2019, so he declined. Once the Edwards informed the UFC that he couldn’t make it to UFC 251, Burns was given the call.
Usman’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, took to social media to claim that Edwards will receive the next title opportunity after Burns.
