“He’s had a serious bad luck streak” - Dana White gives his take on Leon Edwards’ long-awaited welterweight title fight against Kamaru Usman at UFC 278

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(L-R) Dana White, Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman [Images via @leonedwardsmma and @usman84kg on Instagram]

Dana White has weighed in on Leon Edwards’ long-awaited UFC welterweight title fight against Kamaru Usman. The UFC president notably alluded to the fact that Edwards has dealt with “a serious bad luck streak,” particularly regarding a series of fight cancelations over the past few years.

In an interview with MMA Underground’s John Morgan, White was asked about Edwards’ luck working against him in recent years and the UK fighter’s long-overdue shot at UFC gold. The UFC head honcho acknowledged the same and expressed his empathy for ‘Rocky.’ Touching upon the upcoming UFC 278 card taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah, White stated:

“Yeah, he’s had a serious bad luck streak for sure, man. But here he is. He’s going into Salt Lake City, sold-out venue, tons of hype behind this fight. And he can come in with the storybook ending and stop him [Usman] from beating Anderson Silva’s record.”

White alluded to the fact that Kamaru Usman is on the cusp of making history by tying former middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s record for most consecutive UFC wins (16).

Watch White discuss the topic at 3:03 in the video below:

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Belal Muhammad jibes at Leon Edwards over his bad luck, offers to serve as backup for Kamaru Usman fight

At UFC 278, Edwards looks to avenge his 2015 unanimous decision loss to Usman and capture the UFC welterweight title. However, one of his former foes has continued to cast aspersions on the Jamaican native's ability to even make it to the fight.

Belal Muhammad's fight against Leon Edwards in March 2021 ended in a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke from ‘Rocky.’ Muhammad has taken multiple jibes at Edwards ever since.

'Remember The Name' is fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Vicente Luque and took another shot at Edwards in its aftermath. He volunteered to serve as the backup fighter for Usman-Edwards in case Edwards’ bad luck led to him withdrawing from the title matchup. During the UFC Vegas 51 post-fight press conference, Muhammad said:

"With Leon's luck, his fights get canceled every other day, so I would assume that something will happen where he'll trip on a wire or something and then I'll step in and fight Usman."

Watch Belal Muhammad at the UFC Vegas 51 post-fight presser below:

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