UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards has expressed interest in a ‘massive’ MMA clash with Conor McGregor. ‘Rocky’ became UFC champion in his last fight with a sensational fifth-round headkick knockout of Kamaru Usman, but now he has his sights set on some superfights in the not too distant future.
Leon Edwards welcomes ‘massive’ Conor McGregor fight
Leon Edwards, the recently crowned UFC welterweight champion, has his sights set on a possible showdown inside the Octagon with Conor McGregor.
Edwards sensationally knocked out Kamaru Usman in August of last year, with their highly anticipated trilogy fight scheduled for March in London. If the 31-year-old successfully defends the crown from him and remains king at 170 pounds, he insists a superfight with Conor McGregor in late 2023 could be on the cards.
Edwards insists that McGregor must first claim a good victory in his return to UFC action. This fight is now being speculated as a potentially huge fight for UFC welterweight gold. ‘Notorious’ has campaigned at featherweight and lightweight for most of his career, but he’s bulked up tremendously and gained a great deal of muscle in his time out of the Octagon.
The Irishman is unlikely to move up to lightweight again, so a fight at welterweight or even middleweight seems more likely for the former two-weight world champion. If McGregor is successful in returning him to action in the UFC, Edwards is eager to give McGregor a shot at his UFC welterweight title.
In a recent interview with talkSPORT, Edwards says that he welcomes a fight with McGregor in the future, even though they are both under the same management umbrella:
“Yes, 100 percent. If Conor comes back and gets a good win at welterweight then it’s a fight I would welcome. It would be a massive fight for Europe, a massive fight for everyone.
“Let him come back, get a nice win at welterweight and then we can talk from there.”
Of course, before you talk about a McGregor fight for Edwards, you must first beat Usman again in their highly anticipated trilogy in March. However, if ‘Rocky’ succeeds once again against the former pound-for-pound king, the world is his oyster.
Edwards is once again the betting underdog with the best overseas betting sites, but that won’t affect him one bit. The Birmingham man is used to being the underdog.
March 18 will be a big night in Leon Edwards’ career. No doubt a certain Irishman will be watching with invested interest.
