Dana White outlines the plan for three
events at the start of 2021. pic.twitter.com/FtEz2IBbEx— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter)
December 10, 2020
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship is going ahead full-steam with
Yas Island cards to begin the year. Per UFC President Dana White in an interview
with TSN on Thursday, the headlining plan for the Wednesday
event early in the new year will be a rebooking of Leon
Edwards (18-3) vs. Khamzat
Chimaev (9-0). White was not able to confirm the bout at the
time, but that it was in the works. The UFC
Fight Night event on Jan. 20 will be held in Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates, between UFC Fight Night 184 and UFC 257.
Should it come to fruition, it will be a month and a day removed
from its previously scheduled date, as the two were set to headline
UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19 until Edwards tested positive for
COVID-19. Edwards fell very ill from the coronavirus, losing a
dozen pounds as he grappled with the illness while being unable to
train.
The top-ranked Edwards will be making his first appearance since
July 2019, when he captured a five-round decision over Rafael dos
Anjos. The Brit is on an eight-fight win streak, beating names
like Vicente
Luque, Donald
Cerrone, Gunnar
Nelson and the aforementioned dos Anjos on his quest for gold.
Edwards was unable to face Kamaru
Usman for the belt this past summer, as international travel
restrictions plus a short-notice camp did not allow him to have
proper preparation.
Despite only holding a single win at welterweight inside the
Octagon – a stoppage of UFC newcomer Rhys McKee –
Chimaev is ranked in the division at the #15 spot. Unbeaten as a
pro in nine fights, “Borz” has finished all nine of those foes
within two rounds. Chimaev raced out of the starting gate when
signed to the promotion in July, winning three bouts in just over
two months. His last performance came at middleweight, when he put
Gerald
Meerschaert out in 17 seconds with one punch.
White also hinted at a lightweight matchup of Justin
Gaethje vs. Michael
Chandler on UFC 257, with the expectation that an event topped
by Conor
McGregor will “have to have a backup.” The UFC head was coy
about making the bout official, giving a smirk when saying “could
be” after interviewer Aaron Bronsteter floated the idea.
The UFC Fight Night card on Jan. 20 will be held in the Flash Forum
on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In addition to
the prospective Edwards-Chimaev headliner, a women’s flyweight bout
between Roxanne
Modafferi and Viviane
Araujo is expected to take place on this mid-week event. Other
bouts on the card include a featherweight scrap between Lerone
Murphy and Douglas
Silva de Andrade, while Jerome
Rivera welcomes Francisco
Figueiredo to the Octagon at flyweight.
