- ‘Rocky’ says former champion Tyron Woodley and Masvidal both ‘making excuses’
- Edwards thinks he is the top contender to welterweight champion Usman – ‘I deserve a title shot now’
With eight straight victories in the rear-view mirror, England's Leon Edwards has earned a high-profile fight. Unfortunately, the soft-spoken Briton is having a difficult time finding a suitable dance partner.
He's recently been campaigning for a fight with former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, ideally when the organisation returns to London, England, on March 21. Woodley was quick to object to the location of this proposed bout, arguing that as a decorated former champion, he shouldn't have to venture outside the US to compete.
According to Edwards, however, Woodley is opposed to more than just a plane ride across the pond.
"I had a meeting (on Thursday) with (UFC matchmaker) Sean Shelby and the UFC," Edwards told the Post from Las Vegas. "He turned down the fight and made excuses about why he doesn't want to fight me, why he doesn't want to travel to London to fight me.
Rematch?@Leon_EdwardsMMA wants that title shot against @USMAN84kg after #UFC245! pic.twitter.com/s0SRWkj6Cb
" UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) December 15, 2019
"If he doesn't want to travel, I'll travel to him and fight," Edwards said. "He's still making excuses, even then. I don't care about travelling. A fight is a fight no matter where it is in the world."
Despite Woodley's seeming reluctance, Edwards isn't giving up just yet.
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"Stylistically, it's perfect," Edwards said. "I consider him one of the best welterweights of all time, among the likes of Georges St-Pierre " to go out there and beat him it would be a statement. It would be a great achievement for me to go out there and beat him.
"I'm pushing hard to get the fight to answer some questions and prove to the fans that I belong here."
Edwards would also welcome the opportunity to settle his beef with Jorge Masvidal. The pair infamously brawled backstage at the UFC's March, 2019 visit to London, and their mutual animosity has festered, unabated, ever since.
"He's (Masvidal) making excuses," Woodley said. "I'm the only one that's calling out all these guys. Nobody wants to fight them but I'm here calling them out, day in day out.
"It's been offered before and he's turned it down already. I suspect it would be the same thing again. He doesn't want to fight."
At this stage, Edwards is simply eager to traverse the remaining distance to a title fight with reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
He does have a loss to Usman on his record, but that setback occurred in the salad days of his Octagon career, and he hasn't tasted defeat since.
"I feel like I'm the top contender now," Edwards said. "I'm on an eight-fight win-streak. That's the second most behind Usman, who is the last guy to beat me. I feel I deserve a title shot now.
"I feel I match up great against Kamaru. When I fought him before I was just a young kid, I was 22, 23 years old. I'd just got into the UFC. But now I'm flourishing. I've honed my skill-set."
No matter who he fights next, Edwards is confident it's only a matter of time before he's sitting on the welterweight throne.
"I'll be a world champion in 2020, 100 per cent," he said. "I know it in my heart and I know it in my mind. It's going to happen. I feel it in my heart."
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