Leon Edwards finally has a fight booked. Again.
Days after it was announced that his December clash with surging welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev was off due to Edwards testing positive for COVID-19 (Chimaev also tested positive days beforehand), the fight has now been removed for a little over five weeks’ time on January 20.
The fight, Dana White told TSN, will take place on ‘Fight Island’ in Abu Dhabi and is expected to come as part of a series of events which will conclude with the January 23 main event between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.
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The news of Edwards’ rebooking will come as a relief to the Birmingham man who endured a tremendously frustrating 2020. He was slated for his most high profile fight to date, a UFC London main event against Tyron Woodley in March, but the fight was called off at the eleventh hour due to restrictions put in place in the English capital owing to spread of the coronavirus.
Further fights came and went, such as a proposed world title fight with 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman, and then came the recent news that his fight with Chimaev, another main event, was to be postponed.
The fight between the two 170-pounders is a high stakes one. Edwards can consolidate his position towards the top of the UFC welterweight rankings with a win, while Chimaev hopes to add a fourth win to his resume after his debut this past summer and announce himself as a bona fide contender in his own right.
