One of the most anticipated matchups in the coming weeks is going to be the welterweight showdown between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev.
Chimaev is on an unprecedented rise in UFC with three dominant finishes in a span of few months. It can even be argued that he is a couple of wins away from a potential title shot and he is not even ranked in the welterweight yet. That’s how insane the rise of Khamzat Chimaev has been in UFC.
His next fight against Edwards is a huge opportunity for him. But, credit must be given to Edwards for accepting that fight. And former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping is certainly full of praise for the number 3 welterweight in UFC. Bisping fires back at all the criticism Edwards has received in recent times for not accepting the fights and stated:
“It was a gangster move. I think the criticism towards Leon was that he was putting himself on the pedestal a little bit in terms of ranking. But, here is he is taking on Khmazat, a guy nobody wants to fight except Neil Magny. So he goes f**k that, you take me out of the rankings, you want me to fight, f**k you. I will fight the guy, the guy with all the hype. The guy does nothing for me if I beat him. Obviously puts him back in the ring and if he beats Khamzat he is probably going to fight for the title in his next fight. I have got to say any kind of criticism that anybody had of Leon Edwards they got to retract that right now.”
Leon Edwards needs the fight against Khamzat Chimaev
It has been more than a year since Leon Edwards competed inside the UFC octagon. UFC has offered multiple fights to Edwards, but he has turned all of them down except the fight against Tyron Woodley. But, that fight fell apart due to the pandemic restrictions.
Though Leon Edwards is not fighting Khamzat Chimaev out of choice it’s a fight that he needs. Edwards has no wins against the top 5 welterweights in the world. And his 8 fight winning streak does not look impressive after a year-long lay off.
A win over Khamzat Chimaev, the biggest prospect in UFC at the moment, will force the fans to acknowledge Edwards as a real threat to the welterweight throne. Though beating Chimaev does not look easy at the moment Edwards should be the favorite going into the fight.
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