Tag: Leon Edwards

Leon Edwards enjoys prodding Tyron Woodley, says ex-champ ‘forced into’ UFC London headliner

Leon Edwards knows he wasn’t Tyron Woodley’s first choice for his next opponent.

[autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] knows he wasn’t [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag]’s first choice for his next opponent. The matchup was the UFC’s first choice, though, and that’s why it’s happening at UFC on ESPN+ 29 in March.

Woodley (19-4-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) made it clear in recent months that a matchup wasn’t at the top of the list. Add in the fact it takes place in Edwards’ (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) home country of England? The former UFC titleholder made it crystal clear, claiming he was would only leave the U.S. to go on vacation.

The end result, however, was Woodley signing to fight Edwards for the welterweight headliner at UFC on ESPN+ 29, which takes place March 21 at The O2 in London and streams on ESPN+. How did that happen? Edwards said the UFC brass left Woodley with an ultimatum.

“Tyron was trying to make excuses of why he shouldn’t come overseas and why he didn’t want to come to London,” Edwards told MMA Junkie. “The UFC had to force him into it. They gave him no choice but to take the fight. He was forced into it. He knows it’s a dangerous fight for him, and after I beat him, where does he go? He knows the risk.

“I went to Vegas and I had a meeting with Sean Shelby and Dana White and they were saying, ‘You’ve got no other options.’ He would fight me or they were going to move him out of the rankings. He had no choice. He had to take the fight. There’s no other way for him to go. He can’t wait out for a title shot because that’s not going to happen. It’s the only fight that makes sense for the division.”

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On Dec. 25, MMA Junkie first reported the fight between Edwards and Woodley for the main event in London. The pair has since traded barbs on social media, with Edwards taking shots at Woodley’s music career. Woodley was clearly irritated by the putdowns, and Edwards said he saw that as a weakness he’s going to continue to poke fun at up until fight night.

“It’s easy to wind him up,” Edwards said. “It’s easy to get into his head. I’ve got no problem playing that all the way through fight camp. It’s fun. He’s taking it seriously. His music is (expletive), so I don’t know why he’s getting mad. I don’t understand.”

The matchup with Woodley is definitely the biggest fight of Edwards’ career thus far. He said he signed a new multi-fight UFC contract ahead of the event, and it includes championship language that will benefit him if he fights for the title.

With an eight-fight winning streak to his name, Edwards was pushing for a title shot after beating ex-titleholder Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on ESPN 4 in June. He didn’t get the next shot at champion Kamaru Usman (who was the last person to hand him a loss), but if “Rocky” can beat his second consecutive former champion at UFC on ESPN+ 29, he said there will be no denying him.

“After this fight I’ll be ranked No. 1 and on a nine-fight win streak,” Edwards said. “That’s second most to the champion right now. There’s no bigger fight. I would have loved the title fight or (Jorge) Masvidal, but this is the next best thing. Fighting Tyron Woodley, a former world champion, some people consider him the best welterweight of all time.

“It’s good to be able to go out there and prove my case that I’m leaps above these guys. I look forward to going out there and putting on the performance of my life. I’ll show I’m better than these guys and it’s going to be good.”

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Tyron Woodley, Leon Edwards set to headline UFC on ESPN+ 29 in London

The UFC’s return to London finally has a main event as former champ Tyron Woodley meets England’s Leon Edwards in March.

The UFC’s annual return to London finally has a main event set.

After some struggles to get the fight to the finish line, former UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] and surging contender [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] will headline UFC on ESPN+ 29 in March.

MMA Junkie, which initially reported the fight was in the works last month,  confirmed the booking following a Thursday night report by UFC broadcast partner ESPN, which cited UFC president Dana White.

UFC on ESPN+ 29 takes place March 21 at The O2 in London. The card is expected to stream on ESPN+.

Woodley (19-4-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) last competed at UFC 235 last March when he dropped the 170-pound title to Kamaru Usman. The defeat ended a reign of four successful defenses for “The Chosen One,” who has been holding out for a big fight since.

Despite claiming he wouldn’t go overseas to fight, Woodley will indeed take on Edwards (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who is currently riding an eight-fight winning streak dating back to a unanimous decision loss of his own to Usman in December 2015.

After beating Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on ESPN 4 in June, the Brit will attempt to take out his second former UFC champ in a row when he meets Woodley in home soil.

The latest UFC on ESPN+ 29 lineup includes:

  • Tyron Woodley vs. Leon Edwards
  • John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic
  • Darren Stewart vs. Marvin Vettori
  • Tom Aspinall vs. Raphael Pessoa
  • Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Molly McCann
  • Paul Craig vs. Ryan Spann
  • Nicolas Dalby vs. Danny Roberts
  • Gabriel Benitez vs. Lerone Murphy
  • Marc Diakiese vs. Stevie Ray
  • Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Grundy

Ex-champ Tyron Woodley vs. Leon Edwards targeted for UFC London headliner

More than a year after losing the UFC welterweight title, Tyron Woodley will finally get back to work against Leon Edwards.

More than a year after losing the UFC welterweight title, [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] will finally get back to work in March.

Woodley (19-4-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) is expected to make his return to the octagon when he meets streaking contender [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in the main event of UFC London, which takes place March 21 at The O2 in London.

MMA Junkie verified agreements for the 170-pound main event are in place with multiple persons close to the situation. The persons requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make the matchup official.

In addition, Woodley took to social media and essentially confirmed the pairing, also sending a message to Edwards (via Instagram):

Merry Christmas 🎁🎄 @leon_edwardsmma watch what you ask for. Now you about to get fucked clean up at the crib!
–
#NoChills #UFCLondon #March21 #MainEvent #Redemption –
@ufc send me that lil fancy flier to post!

Woodley last competed at UFC 235 in March 2019 when he dropped UFC gold to Kamaru Usman. The defeated ended a reign of four successful defenses for “The Chosen One,” who has since been pushing for a rematch with Usman or a top-tier name in the division.

He didn’t necessarily get either of those, and will seemingly somewhat begrudgingly take on Edwards, who has put together an eight-fight winning streak dating back to a unanimous decision loss to Usman in December 2015.

The latest UFC London lineup now includes:

  • Tyron Woodley vs. Leon Edwards
  • John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic
  • Darren Stewart vs. Marvin Vettori
  • Tom Aspinall vs. Raphael Pessoa
  • Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Molly McCann
  • Marc Diakiese vs. Stevie Ray
  • Paul Craig vs. Ryan Spann

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Spinning Back Clique: What’s next for Usman, Covington; is Khabib-McGregor 2 on the horizon?

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” unpack the latest MMA news and notes in Episode 7 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, John Morgan, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” react to what transpired at UFC 245 and preview what’s to come for a few big names in 2020.

Show rundown:

  • [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] defended his welterweight title in the main event of UFC 245, downing bitter rival [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] in the fifth round of an incredibly competitive fight. Afterward, Usman expressed more interest in facing [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] next rather than [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag]. What makes more sense?
  • Meanwhile, Covington’s rise to the top has been one of scorched earth, and many fans and fighters were clearly happy to see him lose. That said, his performance was quite impressive in the fight, so where does he go from here?
  • In the night’s co-main, [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] claimed gold by scoring an impressive decision win over former champ [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]. It appears an instant rematch is on the horizon, but is there a possibility that’s not the right move?
  • [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] picked up yet another victory and remains a UFC dual champion. The only problem? It doesn’t seem there’s a line of contenders waiting for her to face. Boxing gold medalist [autotag]Claressa Shields[/autotag] has expressed some interest in trying her hand at MMA, but Nunes doesn’t seem to want to reciprocate by giving it a go at boxing, so what’s next for “The Lioness”?
  • UFC 245 was the final UFC pay-per-view of the year, so it’s natural to start taking a look at 2020. UFC president Dana White has already started laying out plans for a potential rematch between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, but “The Eagle” is saying that’s not going to happen. Who’s right?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 7 of “Spinning Back Clique.”

Kamaru Usman favors Leon Edwards over Jorge Masvidal as next contender after UFC 245

Kamaru Usman is willing to fight the next best contender after defending his welterweight title against Colby Covington at UFC 245.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] is willing to fight the next best contender after defending his welterweight title against Colby Covington at UFC 245.

However, it doesn’t appear he thinks [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) is the most deserving man.

Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) achieved the first defense of his 170-pound title reign Saturday when he stopped Covington (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) by fifth-round TKO in the event headliner, which took place at T-Mobile Arena. As with any champion, questions immediately surfaced about what’s next after a big win.

Masvidal is arguably the 2019 “Fighter of the Year,” but despite that, Usman pointed to [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) as a more worthy foe.

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“There’s a lot of tough guys in the division – a lot, a lot of tough guys,” Usman told reporters at the UFC 245 post-fight news conference. “I mean, let’s be honest: If you’re talking about someone who is deserving, Leon Edwards hasn’t lost since he fought me. He’s been finishing guys and he’s now found myself in a position that I found myself in a little over a year ago, is everyone knew I was one of the toughest guys in the division and they didn’t want to take that gamble and risk on me.”

UFC president Dana White said post-fight at UFC 245 that he thinks Usman vs. Masvidal would be a “massive” matchup, but did not commit to anything. Usman said he ultimately won’t decline any matchup the promotion gives him, but he certainly did not echo White’s sentiments about Masvidal.

“Right now I’m sitting above and looking at all these guys and they’re kind of, you know, all in that pool – all very tightly contested,” Usman said. “They just need to break out, and I’m waiting for whoever Dana and the organization feel is next for me and I’ll be happy. I’ll never turn down a fight, and especially now. I’m the champion. If they said this is the next guy, then hey, this is the next guy. But I need to go home. I need the love of my daughter. This has taken a lot.”

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