Reports: Khamzat Chimaev vs Leon Edwards pulled from the UFC card on January 20
The much-anticipated fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards has reportedly been cancelled yet again.
An initial report by Frontkick Online said that Khamzat Chimaev was no longer a part of UFC's January 20 event, where he was scheduled to face Leon Edwards. The report did not say anything about a third rebooking of the fight. A second report by RT Sport stated that the UFC Fight Island 8 main event was scrapped altogether and "will no longer go ahead for reasons which remain unclear".
The bout was initially booked for UFC 256 but had to be pulled as Leon Edwards tested positive for COVID-19. The symptoms he experienced were reportedly quite severe.
Whether COVID-19 interfered once again or there are other reasons behind the second cancellation is still unclear. It is also uncertain so far whether UFC is interested in booking the fight for a third time.
With the main event cancelled, UFC's January 20 event is now without a headliner bout. Whether UFC goes for another matchup or bumps up a fight from the card itself is still unannounced, as the promotion is yet to confirm the cancelation.
Khamzat Chimaev had a tough time finding opponents
There was a time a few months ago when Khamzat Chimaev wanted to take on a fourth opponent this year, but could not find anyone to fight against. Khamzat Chimaev went through John Phillips, Rhys McKee, and Gerald Meerschaert back to back, and wanted to take on yet another fighter before the end of 2020.
He started calling out a bunch of people on Twitter, including the Diaz Brothers, Darren Till, Stephen Thompson, Kevin Holland, Chris Weidman, and middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, and repeatedly said he would fight anyone in his division or any other. Most fighters like 'Wonderboy' turned him down because he was still unranked.
Dana White soon took care of the problem by announcing his fight with Leon Edwards. He even jokingly added that now Chimaev could stop calling people out online. But now the entire matchup is shrouded in uncertainty.