Leon Edwards uninterested in defending his welterweight title post UFC 296, sets sights on winner of Strickland vs. Du Plessis for double champ status
Leon Edwards recently outlined his future following his upcoming welterweight title defense against Colby Covington at UFC 296, and indicated that he would like to achieve double champ status.
While speaking to Sky Sports, the reigning welterweight champion revealed that he too has aspirations of becoming a two-division UFC champion. He mentioned that he has his sights set on UFC 297, which will be headlined by the middleweight title fight between Dricus du Plessis and champion Sean Strickland.
He said:
"A hundred percent, definitely [moving up to challenge the middleweight champion]. I feel especially with somebody like [Sean] Strickland and I think he's fighting [Dricus] du Plessis, so any of them two would be great."
Leon Edwards also brought up that he believes he matches up well with both Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis. He mentioned that he would feel confident moving up to 185lbs and even targeted UFC 300 for when he'd like to challenge the middleweight champion, saying:
"I'm big myself. I feel like that would be perfect [matchup]...That's definitely one of my goals [being double champ], so that in the cards for sure...There's no one that's exciting in the division, you know, so for me go out there and do that, that would be perfect...UFC 300, I like that. Put me on that card, it would be massive."
It will be interesting to see whether the UFC would grant Leon Edwards a middleweight title shot, but he could make a strong case should he earn a decisive win over Colby Covington next month.
Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington to headline UFC 296
Leon Edwards is scheduled to defend his welterweight championship against Colby Covington at UFC 296, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 16th. The event will mark the UFC's final pay-per-view of 2023 and will feature a stacked card that includes many notable names.
In addition to Edwards vs. Covington, UFC 296 includes a flyweight title bout as Alexandre Pantoja makes his first title defense against Brandon Royval, Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson returns to take on surging welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov, Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett in a lightweight bout, and a welterweight bout between Vicente Luque and Ian Garry.
