The UFC was just in London a couple of weeks ago as Leon Edwards (21-3, 1 NC) defended his title on home soil against former champion Kamaru Usman (20-3). While Edwards entered as the champion, many believed that he needed to defeat Usman again to really prove he was the better fighter.
Well, that’s exactly what he did. At UFC 286, Edwards won by majority decision to retain his welterweight title. Sitting in the front row for the fight was former interim champion Colby Covington (17-3). Covington hasn’t fought since last March when he dominated Jorge Masvidal over the course of five rounds.
You could tell the promotion was setting these two up for a promo spot because this was the next fight they were interested in. Instead, in both the post-fight interview and press conference, Edwards said that he would be more interested in facing the winner of Gilbert Burns – Jorge Masvidal.
Dana White quickly shot that down and has doubled down in the last week. White made it perfectly clear that Colby Covington would be the next challenger for the UFC welterweight championship.
UFC targeting another London title defense
Sport Illustrated reported earlier this evening that the promotion is targeting July 22nd for their next trip to London. If the promotion gets their wish, Edwards would once again defend his title and he would be taking on the ultimate villain in that fight.
Leon Edwards gives the UFC a champion in the UK and you can tell that they want to take advantage. Much like they did with GSP in Canada. I would expect Edwards to fight multiple times in the UK if he does have a long title reign. However, he’s going to have his hands full with this next challenge.
While some might roll their eyes at the thought of Covington getting a title shot, you cannot deny the fact that he’s still one of the very best in the world. He poses some interesting challenges for Edwards and I think it’s going to be a great fight in front of the incredible UK fans.