The UFC currently has a new date targeted for the highly anticipated matchup between Khamzat Chimaev (9-0) and Leon Edwards (18-3). Dana White told TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter that the promotion is targeting Wednesday, January 20th on Fight Island.
This is absolutely huge for UFC fans. Dana White has been saying that he was hoping for an international fight week on Fight Island. If this fight comes together, the UFC is in for one helluva stretch to kickoff the new year.
The first card of 2021 is headlined by Max Holloway – Calvin Kattar on January 16th. The UFC‘s plan is to have Chimaev – Edwards be the mid-week fight that transitions to UFC 257. Of course, that card is headlined by Conor McGregor – Dustin Poirier.
If this comes together, that might be the best seven day fight period in the history of the UFC. They had a week like this back in July, but I don’t know if it would beat this one considering the star power on these cards.
Originally, Edwards and Chimaev were set to headline UFC Vegas 17 next Saturday night. However, Edwards came down with COVID-19 and was forced to pull out of the fight. The promotion has stayed with keeping this fight together as opposed to rebooking Chimaev.
UFC’s 2021 Start
As mentioned, if this fight gets finalized, the UFC couldn’t start out better in 2021. They are currently targeting to have fans be able to attend these events, however, nothing is finalized at the moment.
Edwards and Chimaev is a massive fight for the UFC‘s welterweight division. If Edwards wins, he would have won nine fights in a row and would clearly be the top contender in the welterweight division.
However, if Chimaev wins, he will solidify himself as the UFC‘s next star. Chimaev came out of no where in 2020 and he currently has more hype behind him than we’ve seen in a very long time.
This fight is not finalized and a lot will come down to the condition of Leon Edwards. However, if all goes as planned, it should be a very fun start to 2021 for fight fans.