Let’s rewind to March of 2019, UFC Fight Night: Till vs Masvidal. Edwards was the co-main event that evening where he squeezed out a split decision victory veteran Gunnar Nelson. This took place in London, England which is home to Edwards himself. In the main event, Jorge Masvidal spectacularly knocks out Darren Till which reignited his career tremendously.
Things took a turn when Edwards interrupted Masvidal during his post-fight interview. In response, “Gamebred” Jorge Masvidal walks over to Edwards and his team and lands a three-punch combination out of nowhere. AKA the three-piece and a soda.
As a promotion, could you ask for a better storyline to build a fight around?
Three months later in July, Edwards notched a decision victory in a five-round main event bout against Rafael Dos Anjos, extending his win streak to 8. After his victory, “Rocky” Edwards was interviewed by UFC commentator Jon Anik, where Edwards calls for a bout with Masvidal saying “he’s not on my level” and that he accepts the fight.
This had all the signs of becoming one of the best modern-day rivalries in the UFC.
Fast forward to today. We haven’t seen Leon Edwards since his decision win over Dos Anjos. Unfortunately for Edwards, Jorge Masvidal had an even bigger fight lined up with Nate Diaz for the BMF belt.
Although, Edwards has been active on social media calling out top contender Colby Covington and even Nick Diaz. He also shut down any potential thought of challenging the number five contender, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Just two weeks ago it appeared the UFC removed the number three ranking from Leon Edwards. This was later confirmed by Tom Taylor of BJPenn.com stating, “the Brit’s exit is a result of his prolonged inactivity.”
Leon Edwards took to Twitter responding to the breaking news about the removal of his ranking:
The most important thing to note here is his call out of Khamzat Chimaev, who is potentially the next superstar in the UFC. Most notably, Chimaev fought twice in ten days over the summer finishing both of his opponents.
During a post-fight interview with UFC veteran and commentator Dan Hardy, Khamzat was asked who he wants to fight next. Chimaev replied, “doesn’t matter. I’m gonna smash everybody.”
Well, Chimaev knocked out his last opponent with the first punch he threw. Officially a seventeen-second victory.
Even though Chimaev is on the verge of becoming a superstar, he still is not a ranked contender. UFC President Dana White confirmed he would face a top ten ranked opponent next, but who would have ever guessed it be Leon Edwards.
Dana White appeared on The Jim Rome Show on October 23rd and officially announced, “We just got a deal done yesterday for Leon Edwards vs Chimaev.”
Immediately after the fight became official, the UFC restored Edward’s number three ranking.
When analyzing this fight, it is clear Edwards has much more crisp and fundamental boxing skills than Chimaev. He even boasts a 70% takedown defense and is capable of performing his own takedowns, according to UFC Stats.
Looking closer at Edward’s last few fights through UFC Stats, Gunnar Nelson successfully landed three takedowns on Edwards. Dominic Waters was able to get four of his own and Kamaru Usman landed six takedowns in their bout in 2015.
On the contrary, UFC Stats offers this:
Khamzat Chimaev holds a 75% takedown accuracy rate with a 3.1 average of submissions attempted. He has a 9-0 professional record and If you count his amateur fights he is
12-0 in mixed martial arts. Chimaev technically finished all twelve opponents, including five submission victories.
This bout could play out in numerous ways, but if Khamzat gets a hold of Edwards early, it could be bad news.
This leaves me with two main questions about Leon Edward’s future:
Does a win over a tough yet unranked opponent bring him closer to a title shot?
I think the only way to do so is by finishing Khamzat Chimaev by way of KO or submission of his own. He needs to remind the fans and Dana White why he is the number three welterweight contender in the world.
On the other side, where does a loss put him on the rankings in the welterweight division?
A Khamzat Chimaev win would catapult him into the third-ranked contender or top five at least. But, I wonder what would happen to Edward’s ranking if by chance he loses the fight.