Leon Edwards has joined Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the “uninterested in fighting Khamzat Chimaev” camp, and Edwards is not too keen on fighting Thompson, either.
Leon Edwards has been open about his short-term goal for a while now: fighting for the world title ASAP. Given the fact that Edwards is currently riding an 8-fight winning streak, the longest in the division besides reigning champion Kamaru Usman, Edwards believes that he should be no more than one fight away from a title shot and that this one fight will need to be against someone ranked higher and more relevant than Stephen Thompson is at the moment.
“As far as Wonderboy, he got knocked out like a fight ago,” Edwards said. “[Anthony] Pettis knocked him out one fight ago. If I go out there right now and I fight Wonderboy and I beat Wonderboy the UFC will be like ‘let’s go one more in the top-five and then we’ll go for a title.’ They wouldn’t give me a title shot straight away.
“For me to get to the world title, which is my aim and my dream, is to beat one of those top-four [guys]. I have to fight someone in the top-four to get my title shot.
“I’ve done all the Wonderboy fights,” Edwards continued. “I’ve been there, done it. I’m on an eight-fight win streak now. I don’t need to go fight someone like Wonderboy. He does nothing for my career.
“He’s coming down, I’m going up. If he gets one or two more wins, then I’ll consider it.
One opponent whom Edwards currently does not have on his radar whatsoever is someone also rumored to be a potential next opponent for him, undefeated phenom Khamzat Chimaev.
“As far as Chimaev, he’s only had what one fight at welterweight against a lightweight guy?” Edwards said. “It’s hard to judge from that. When he’s calling me out, I don’t really pay attention. It is what it is. I don’t really pay attention too much.”
Leon Edwards hasn’t competed since July 2019 in a main-event victory over Rafael dos Anjos. Thompson also has been out for a while, with his last fight being in November of last year. Both men seem content on continuing to wait for the fight that suits them best, as Khamzat Chimaev remains hungry to wolf down another foe to feed his insatiable appetite for violence.
What do you make on Leon Edwards’ reasoning for being uninterested in fighting Stephen Thompson or Khamzat Chimaev?
