Leon Edwards releases statement after the cancelation of UFC London fight against Tyron Woodley

It's been an unfortunate week for the British #4 ranked UFC Welterweight Leon Edwards. He was set to have the biggest fight of his career as he was scheduled to headline a Fight Night card in London against former Champion Tyron Woodley.

A win against Woodley would guarantee Edwards a future title shot as per the contract he signed. Unfortunately, the outbreak of Coronavirus has impacted every aspect of life and the UFC was forced to move the card from London to the United States for it to happen.

As a result, Edwards would have to scramble for a last-minute flight and acclimatize in only a few days before facing Woodley - presumably behind closed doors. Understandably, he withdrew from the fight as the logistics of it didn't make sense. After losing out on a #1 contenders fight, he put out a statement on Instagram, calling the situation "heartbreaking":

View this post on Instagram

Last night I went to sleep still with some hope that UFC London would continue next week. I woke up this morning to the news that it won't be. We have been working with the UFC on possible solutions to keep the fight alive, but unfortunately with such a short window of time, nothing was viable. Myself and my team are all fathers, husbands, sons and brothers, and not all of us can leave our families right now. I wish we could have found a way for the fans, I truly do. I have been dreaming of headlining a UFC show in my home country since I started this sport. This cancellation is truly heartbreaking. I have never worked harder and never been more prepared for the biggest moment in my career. But I know that the whole world is hurting right now and this is bigger than me, this is bigger than sports. All I can hope for is that all of you stay safe and look after each other as we get past this and move forward. I am humbled by the thousands of messages of support I have received in the hours since the announcement, I truly appreciate you all and feel a lot of love right now. I look forward to this event being rebooked when it is safe to do so, so Tyron and I can put on the show that you all deserve. Please take care, we will all get through is. Rocky

A post shared by Leon "Rocky" Edwards (@leon_edwardsmma) on Mar 15, 2020 at 11:27am PDT

Ultimately, he understands that the situation is bigger than him and the sport. That's the reality of it and Edwards will likely have to wait until later this year to have his title eliminator match.

Some feel that he's already deserving of the next title shot, but Dana White revealed UFC's plans to have Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal in International Fight Week this July. Hopefully, Edwards gets his title shot soon after that.