The fight curse might be real as the UFC breakthrough star, Khamzat Chimaev has pulled out of his fight for the second time. UFC President, Dana White said that they are looking for another opponent for Edwards, and still plans to fight on the same date.
Even from the first pull out of Chimaev, Edwards was already looking to fight the co-main event contenders, or even Jorge Masvidal, instead the UFC chose to rebook the fight to a later date. Sadly, Chimaev pulled out again and the UFC has no choice but to look for a replacement fighter.
Chimaev got the COVID bad, his recovery is not well and has been hospitalized. White has said that they want Chimaev to have the best healthcare possible and is planning to fly him to the country to get the best doctors as well.
The UFC decided to move on and fight opponents for Edwards, one fighter that wanted was Stephen Thompson. Although it makes sense since Thompson is coming off a win against Geoff Neal and is the current #5 contender. Unfortunately, Thompson cannot work with the time-frame due to his hand injury.
Leon Edwards is very adamant on staying on the March 13 card, per his manager Tim Simpson. He doesn’t want to delay his return any longer.
As a result, Wonderboy isn’t an option because his hands are still injured from the Neal fight and he’ll only be able to return in May/June.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 12, 2021
The UFC is looking to book Colby Covington vs Leon Edwards instead, the winner will fight for the title next. Although most fans would want to have Covington vs Masvidal due to their history and bad blood but it still depends on the contenders on who is ready and is willing to step up and fight on March 13.
Another name that is in the mix is Nate Diaz, he planned to stay at 170 lbs so what better way for him to fight the #3 Ranked welterweight. It is a low risk-high reward fight for Diaz, a win would skyrocket him to title contention. Leon Edwards also called out Diaz but no response from him yet.
Nate just dribbled for an hour about wanting to fight at 170 against winners… let’s see it then @NateDiaz209. 8 fight win streak and #3 in the world. Let’s go if you still think you're a real one https://t.co/PUaPfwtRPQ
— Leon 'Rocky' Edwards (@Leon_edwardsmma) February 12, 2021
Leon Edwards’s best win was against Rafael Dos Anjos who has fought for the interim welterweight champion. Another win for Edwards would potentially grant him a title shot and a rematch with Kamaru Usman.
