After beating Kamaru Usman twice to take (and retain) UFC’s Welterweight title, Leon Edwards is now focused on establishing himself as the best fighter in the world. And what better way than to knock off the current No. 10-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.
“For sure, for sure,” he said when asked by talkSPORT about a “Champ vs. Champ” fight. “Obviously, we have got work to do within the division. I feel like Islam just fought his first actual Lightweight. He fought Volk, but this is the first actual Lightweight he has fought within the division. He’s on a three defense streak. After I beat Belal, that’ll be my third as well. So both on similar paths, so I can see it happen in the future.
“In addition, I aspire to elevate my position and strive for the middleweight championship belt,” expressed Edwards. “Therefore, whichever opportunity arises first.”
“Champ-champ” aspirations are nothing new in UFC. Indeed, since UFC allowed a select few fighters — Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo and Amanda Nunes — to collect simultaneous belts in two divisions, every champion has chased that goal.
With mixed results.
However, the question remains: will the UFC permit Edwards and Makhachev to move up a division despite their crowded weight classes? Currently, the promotion prioritizes having title fights as the main event for pay-per-views, rather than having fighters hold belts in multiple weight classes and potentially causing delays. As a result, it might take some time before either of these fighters gets the chance to create history by moving up a division.
Edwards, on his part, holds a realistic perspective regarding the timeline.
“Defend my belt twice this year, that will be four defenses,” he told Sky Sports earlier this year. “Maybe one more [defense] next year, that’s five defenses. Then later on in the year, have a big middleweight fight. That’s six title fights. That is my goal. Two [defenses] this year, one next year, then end of next year move up.”
The first stop on that run is Manchester, England on July 27th where he’ll fight Belal Muhammad in UFC 304’s PPV main event.
Light work?
To checkout the latest UFC 304 fight card and rumors click here.
