Leon Edwards wishes to end up being the UFC’s most current two-division champ, targeting a transfer to middleweight after making it through Colby Covington in December.
At UFC 296, Edwards protects his title for the 2nd time after besting Kamaru Usman in back-to-back battles. The welterweight champ does not have much interest in remaining at 170 pounds.
Rather, the 32-year-old British fighter likes the concept of dealing with another department, and the Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis middleweight title battle at UFC 297 is an attractive choice.
“100 percent, absolutely,” Edwards informed Sky Sports when inquired about going up to middleweight. “I feel particularly with somebody like [Sean] Strickland, and I believe he’s combating [Dricus] Du Plessis quickly, so either of them 2 would be excellent to combat.
“I’m huge myself. I seem like that would be ideal. I seem like me heading out and being double-champ, very first from the UK to do it. That’s absolutely among my objectives. That’s on the cards for sure.”
Strickland protects his middleweight title on Jan. 20 in Toronto. He has a lot of oppositions waiting in the wings. Unbeaten Chechen trashing device Khamzat Chimaev is prepared after making a title shot in October, while Belal Muhammad was guaranteed a possibility to eliminate for the welterweight title after beating Gilbert Burns in May.
Muhammad’s current win extended his present unbeaten streak to 10 battles. Contribute to that, he battled Edwards to a no-contest back in 2021 after an eye poke ended their centerpiece face-off.
Regardless of those prospective difficulties, Edwards thinks his pursuit to end up being a two-division UFC champ might occur earlier instead of later on, particularly with a huge card anticipated to happen in early 2024.
“Next would be ideal, to be sincere,” Edwards stated. “The department today, there’s nobody that’s interesting in the department so for me to head out there to do that, that would be best. UFC 300, I like that. To put me on that card would be enormous. Let’s see.”
Things initially, Edwards has to beat Covington on Dec. 16. He can begin outlining a future that might consist of a shot at the UFC middleweight champ.
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