Leon
Edwards has been the odd man out in the Ultimate Fighting
Championship’s welterweight division thus far in 2020.
After his proposed UFC London headlining clash in March with
Tyron
Woodley fell through due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Edwards has
seen the many of the top contenders at 170 pounds booked in the
ensuing months while he stays stuck on the sidelines.
“It’s an annoying position to be in,” Edwards told
ESPN. “I’m the only guy in the top 10 who is not living in the
U.S., I believe. But these guys have to fight me soon. I’ll 100
percent fight this year. I’m 29 and I need to stay active. These
guys in the top 5 are all [in their mid-30s]. I’m the youngest in
the top 15, probably. I want to be active.”
Currently, Gilbert
Burns is slated to challenge reigning champion Kamaru
Usman at UFC 256 at the end of the year; Woodley will lock
horns with Colby
Covington later this month and there are rumblings that
Jorge
Masvidal will book a “BMF” rematch with Nate Diaz
early in 2020.
Edwards, who has a
history with Masvidal, is especially frustrated that “Gamebred”
is looking for a rematch with Diaz.
“Stop being a p—-y and f—-in’ let’s fight, right? You say you’re
the Street Jesus and you’re [the] BMF, let’s prove the case,”
Edwards said. “You can’t go out there and fight a guy you just
f—-in’ battered for three rounds and then do it again and say
you’re the BMF. That’s not how it works, so stop being a p—-y and
step up.”
Edwards has won eight fights in a row but hasn’t competed since
outpointing Rafael dos
Anjos in UFC on ESPN 4 main event in July 2019. If no options
present themselves, Edwards would be open to a showdown with
Nick
Diaz, who is rumored to be interested in making a UFC
return.
“I’ve done enough to deserve a big fight, a big name — I don’t
think any fight will do,” Edwards said. “At least a name to
motivate me to go out and do the job. I heard Nick Diaz is
coming back; that’d be a good fight. He’s a popular name. It would
be good to beat Nick, that’d be nine in a row. But any of these big
names, I believe I am better than them.”