Leon Edwards is in a tough spot in the welterweight division as everyone around him is booked while he is waiting to see what is next.
The Englishman was expected to fight Tyron Woodley in March but the COVID-19 pandemic canceled that event and since then he hasn’t been booked. Now, the hope for Edwards is he gets a top-five guy but is unsure if that will happen.
“I feel I deserve one of these top five guys, if not a big name in the sport,” Edwards said Submission Radio (h/t MMAFighting). “So, yeah, I’ve been on the UFC now since March, trying to get a name in and trying to get a fight in, but it’s always, it was hard for me during lockdown. Everyone else in the top 15 are based in the US. I’m the only one in the top 15 that’s based in the UK. So, it’s way easier for the UFC to match them guys up, cause they’re based in the states, and I couldn’t travel cause of visa issues, and obviously you couldn’t get into America from the UK. So, it’s been frustrating and it’s been annoying. But my time will come and I will be the champion and I truly believe that, you know what I mean, so it’s all good.”
One name that made sense for Leon Edwards is Jorge Masvidal given the backstage confrontation at UFC London in 2019. Yet, the Englishman says “Gamebred” doesn’t want the fight but when he sees him they will fight on site.
“He’s come out and said he doesn’t want none of the smoke with me, he’ll only fight me for that world title. So, I’m kind of over it now,” Edwards said. “He doesn’t want to fight. So, when I see him, we’ll be on site fighting, and he knows what it is when we see each other. It is what it is. You cannot force a man into a fight, right? If he says he don’t want to fight, you can’t. Nothing you can do to force him into it. I want it, the UFC want it. He keeps saying he doesn’t want it. So, what more can I do?”
