Dana White recently praised Leon Edwards for previously accepting fights against newcomer Khamzat Chimaev despite being ranked inside the top 5.
In a bid to earn a title shot against Kamaru Usman, the Briton was willing to face the dangerous if untested Chechen-born Swede when not many others were. Edwards’ bravery in taking on all challenges has been applauded by the UFC president, who commended the welterweight for accepting the high-risk, low-reward fight.
In a recent Fight Week Live video, White spoke to Michael Bisping, Adam Catterall and Nick Peet. During the conversation, he acknowledged Leon Edwards’ courage:
“I was talking about how nobody wanted to fight Khamzat [Chimaev], he was gonna fight Khamzat twice. He was gonna fight Khamzat twice in the position he was in, you can’t take anything away from this kid.”
The 52-year-old continued in his admiration for the Birmingham native, claiming he’s deservedly next in line for a shot at Kamaru Usman:
“He absolutely deserves the next title shot, and yes, I’m wishing for nothing but good luck for Edwards this year, he’s had a rough run… Usman, we’re waiting for his hand to get cleared. His hand gets cleared and he’s got the fight.”
White and Edwards have had their differences in the past, but it seems the Team Renegade athlete has impressed his boss enough to earn himself a shot at UFC gold.
Video bellow (51:38): Dana White praised Leon Edwards for accepting fights against Khamzat Chimaev despite being ranked inside the top 5
After not losing a fight since 2015 – that loss was to current welterweight king Kamaru Usman – it’s hard to deny Leon Edwards the next shot at the 170 lb gold.
His 10-fight unbeaten run has seen him beat legends like Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone, and Rafael dos Anjos inside the octagon. The 30-year-old’s ability to take the fight anywhere and dominate gives him a strong chance of beating anybody he faces.
With a 19-3-1 record, ‘Rocky’ has found success in the sport of MMA and has held the BAMMA RDX welterweight championship on one occasion. He now has a chance to be crowned the second-ever British UFC champion after Michael Bisping captured the middleweight strap from Luke Rockhold in 2016.
