There is a common saying that you’re not a true champion until you defend your title.
Well, if that’s the case, Leon "Rocky" Edwards can now officially call himself a UFC champion.
The 31-year-old Kingston-born British fighter, now 21-3 (1) in MMA, successfully defended his UFC Welterweight title with a majority decision win over Nigerian former Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 at the O2 Arena in London over the weekend.
It was Edwards’ second straight win over Usman, who, before their last fight, was on a 19-fight win streak. That streak included a unanimous decision victory over Edwards back in 2015.
With that being said, their chapter appears to be closed with the question now being: who is next for Leon Edwards?
One good thing about being a UFC champion is that there’s never a shortage of opponents to choose from. In some cases, fighters even get to select who they want to defend their title against, no matter how deserving they truly are of that shot.
Edwards made his attempt at this when, in his post-fight press conference, he called out veteran Jorge Masvidal (35-16) who Edwards had a viral run-in with back in 2019.
On that fateful night, interestingly at the same venue where Edwards defended his title, Masvidal, after knocking out British Welterweight Darren Till in the second round of their main event, was giving an interview backstage after the fight.
Edwards, who was also victorious on the night after securing a split decision win over Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson, made some comments while walking past Masvidal during interview before telling the Miami native to “shut up.”
Masvidal then made his way over to Edwards and the two got into an altercation, with the former landing several unanswered punches to Edwards, who declined to press charges.
Two years later, the pair were scheduled to fight, officially this time, at UFC 269 in Las Vegas before Masvidal pulled out and the bout was scrapped.
Since the incident, their careers have gone on two different paths. Edwards just defended his title and has won four of five fights, with one no contest, while Masvidal is 2-3 in his last five fights, including three straight losses. Two of those came against Usman while his last came against Colby Covington, the man who UFC President Dana White has said is next for Edwards.
Masvidal is currently ninth in the UFC Welterweight rankings and will need to beat number five-ranked Brazilian Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 next month for the UFC to even consider booking him against Edwards for the Welterweight belt.
Another contender for Edwards’ next fight is the aforementioned Colby Covington. Covington, 35, is a former Interim UFC Welterweight champion and is currently the number two-ranked Welterweight contender.
He is 2-2 in his last four fights with both losses coming in title fights against Usman. Covington, 17-3 in MMA, also weighed in as the back-up fighter for Saturday’s title fight between Edwards and Usman, signaling that he may be next in line for a title shot.
The other two main contenders are Khamzat Chimaev and Belal Muhammad.
Chimaev, ranked number three, is a Swedish wrecking ball who is currently 12-0 that could be fast-tracked to a title fight despite having only one win against a ranked fighter in the UFC. Him versus Edwards is unlikely as he is currently contemplating a move up to middleweight.
Muhammad, 22-3 in MMA, could very well have the best argument for a fight with Edwards based on merit. The 34-year-old is ranked number four and is currently on a nine-fight unbeaten streak including eight wins and one no contest.
Remember the no contest for Edwards? It came against Muhammad when they fought in a UFC Fight Night main event back in March 2021.
Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye in the second round leaving the latter unable to continue. It was determined that the poke was accidental by the referee, meaning, instead of a Muhammad win by disqualification, it was ruled a no contest. Perhaps those two could run it back with the belt on the line.
In the end, whether it’s Edwards vs Masvidal, Edwards vs Covington, Edwards vs Chimaev or Edwards vs Muhammad 2, we will all be watching.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Conor McGregor to make his long-awaited return to UFC on June 29
Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to UFC on June 29 after nearly three years out.
Dana White confirmed that the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion will fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June.
McGregor – who has 22 wins and six UFC defeats – has not competed in the UFC since July 2021 when he sustained a horrific leg break against Dustin Poirier, who he had previously fought and lost to six months earlier.
Speaking about the fight, White said on Saturday that McGregor’s return had been “all about timing”.
“There’s all kinds of things that go on behind the scenes and it’s all about timing. Chandler’s been ready but Conor hasn’t been ready,” White said.
“We talked about this in one of the press conferences recently, he had a lot of obligations that he had to deal with.
“What you don’t want him doing is accepting a fight when he’s got a ton of obligations and he can’t train 100 per cent for a fight, so here we are tonight.”
Dana White awards first ‘Bite of the Night’ bonus in UFC history after Vegas 89
UFC Vegas 89 was overshadowed after Igor Severino bit Andre Lima on the arm during their flyweight contest.
Severino was disqualified for biting in the second round of their preliminary card bout at UFC Apex in Nevada between the previously-undefeated fighters.
UFC president Dana White later claimed Severino would be released from UFC for the bite and doubled the bonus money of mixed martial artist Lima.
The disqualification of Severino by referee Chris Tognoni ensured Lima won the contest and claimed the first ‘Bite of the Night’ bonus in UFC history after scenes reminiscent of Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield’s ear at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in 1997.
Lima, who let out a yell after the incident, uploaded pictures of the bite and got a tattoo around the teeth marks on his bicep with the phrase, “I got f****** bit bonus”, hours after his victory.
UFC president White said on his Instagram story: “I was going to give him 25k. Now I’m giving him 50k. This is awesome.”
While Lima wrote on Instagram: “It was so insane I had to make it permanent. A debut to remember. Thanks boss Dana White! Ready for many more.”
Cedric Doumbe-Baki clash ‘the biggest prospect fight in all MMA’ – Dan Hardy
Former UFC star Dan Hardy has described Cedric Doumbe’s clash with Baysangur ‘Baki’ Chamsoudinov at PFL Paris as the “biggest prospect fight in all of mixed martial arts.”
The Professional Fighters League returns to the French capital where undefeated duo Doumbe and Baki face off in the welterweight division on Thursday evening.
The event between the two Frenchmen at the Accor Arena, for which tickets sold out almost instantly, comes after Doumbe’s impressive first-round victory over Jordan Zebo in September.
Hardy, now the PFL head of fighter operations, talked up the encounter, comparing poster boy Doumbe to the likes of Jon Jones and Conor McGregor.
“We’re very fortunate to have Cedric Doumbe and he makes my life very easy,” Hardy told the PA news agency.
“In terms or marketability and technical ability I don’t think there’s anyone who comes close to Cedric. I have to look at the likes of Jon Jones and Conor McGregor to find someone who has the same impact on the fans.
“The crowd in September was 90 per cent Doumbe but Baki (Chamsoudinov) this time will have a lot of support as well. He’s undefeated, he has Khamzat Chimaev in his corner, you know what to expect from both of these guys.
“To me, this is the biggest prospect fight that can be made in all of mixed martial arts right now.
“We’ve had to reorganise the arena to get more fans in.”
The Chechen-born Baki boasts a strong wrestling background which will test Doumbe’s stand-up style.
Hardy believes the fight could prove to be a risky one for 31-year-old Doumbe.
“Because he’s fighting Baki everyone feels that this is a fight in which he could potentially lose,” he said.
“Baki could take him down, control him against the fence and make him look like a beginner in MMA. We haven’t had those questions answered in Doumbe’s game yet.
“It’s a very risky fight for Doumbe. If I was his management then this is not the fight I would of picked for him. Baki’s taken this fight and is probably thinking ‘Doumbe is crazy, he’s a good fighter but he’s not fought anyone like me before’.
“If I was a cautious matchmaker trying to build Doumbe up then this is not a fight I would make. But I’m a former fighter who is an MMA fan and I want to see this fight.”
Hardy also sees the reasons why Doumbe would take on the 22-year-old Baki’s challenge.
“I can’t underestimate a fighter like Doumbe, he knows himself so well,” Hardy said. “He plays the range and psychological game really well and I just wonder if any of the games he’s playing leading into this fight will have any impact on Baki.
“Cedric has taken this fight because it’s a shortcut to the top. If he gets the win then he can start looking at champions and think ‘I want to fight you’.”
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