A couple of days ago, news broke that the UFC 256 headliner between welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman (18-1), and Gilbert Burns (19-3) was off. Usman will need a little more time to prepare to defend his UFC title after getting banged up in his last contest.
The UFC is planning on putting that fight together in the first month or two of 2021. However, a top contender who is dying for a fight has already been active in calling out Burns. Leon Edwards (18-3) is itching for a fight, and he thinks Burns is the perfect opponent.
Edwards said in a tweet that he would be willing to fight Burns on December 12th. This was followed by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani suggesting the two fight to determine a true number one contender. Edwards has been on the sidelines for over a year now, but is on an eight fight winning streak.
Edwards has been lobbying for a top fight, and he sees this as his chance to prove he’s the number one contender in the UFC‘s welterweight division. However, Burns has no interest taking the fight, and he’s planning on waiting a month or two for his UFC title shot.
I’m already the number contender, I’m waiting for a title shot. Why should I fight to be a number 1 contender again? You really think that or just hating on Ali again? https://t.co/Z6gOuYlkAQ
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) October 6, 2020
What does the UFC do?
In my opinion, the UFC should stick to their current plan. They should plan on having the Usman – Burns title fight early next year. If Usman was going to be out for a long time, I would have made the Edwards – Burns fight for an interim title with the winner facing Usman next year.
However, that is not the case. Burns is only going to have to wait one or two months to get his shot at UFC gold. This is the second time that his title shot has been postponed. First it was his positive COVID test on Fight Island, and now Usman not being ready.
Burns deserves this shot and nobody should take issue with him waiting. Durinho later suggested that Edwards should go fight Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. This is the fight I’ve been saying that the UFC should make.
Once the title fight is re-booked, everyone in the top six will be booked besides Edwards and Thompson. The fight just makes sense for all parties, but Edwards says he’s not interested. I still think that’s the fight the UFC should push to make.