The Ultimate Fighting Championship has put together a solid welterweight headliner for its annual trip to London.
On Wednesday night, Tyron Woodley (19-4-1) posted on his Instagram that he has agreed to a welterweight matchup against the surging Leon Edwards (18-3) to headline UFC London in March. The event will take place at the O2 Arena in London on March 21.
His Instagram post wrote, “Merry Christmas @leon_edwardsmma watch what you ask for. Now you about to get f*cked clean up at the crib! #NoChills #UFCLondon #March21 #MainEvent #Redemption – @ufc send me that lil fancy flier to post!”
Woodley has yet to step inside the Octagon since losing his title to Kamaru Usman in March 2019. Prior to the loss, Woodley defended his welterweight strap against Darren Till, Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson after wresting it from the grip of Robbie Lawler. When he hit a brabo choke on Till in his most recent victory, he became the first fighter in UFC history to pull off that maneuver in a title fight.
Edwards has not lost since 2015 — a span of eight fights — when he also dropped a decision to Usman. In that stretch, “Rocky” has beaten the likes of Donald Cerrone, Vicente Luque and Rafael dos Anjos in building up the streak. Edwards has yet to suffer a stoppage loss in his 21-fight career, with two decision defeats coupled with a disqualification after landing illegal knees on Delroy McDowell in 2012.
This matchup will sit atop a card that features a light heavyweight battle between Paul Craig and Ryan Spann, as well as a middleweight scrap between Darren Stewart and Marvin Vettori. Although Robert Whittaker and Till were briefly linked to this event, Whittaker instead took a matchup against Jared Cannonier at UFC 248.