"He's paid his dues" - Michael Bisping on Leon Edwards fighting Kamaru Usman for the title next
Leon Edwards has seemingly finally received the opportunity to compete in a rematch against Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title.
Dana White broke the news to renowned MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter and Edwards' compatriot Michael Bisping could not be happier.
When I asked if Leon Edwards is next in line to fight for the welterweight championship, Dana White's reply was "100%"
'Rocky' has been calling for a fight against the welterweight kingpin for quite some time. However, Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal have previously gotten the nod ahead of him.
Michael Bisping recently claimed it was about time Leon Edwards was called up to fight for the title. Here's what 'The Count' had to say on the Believe You Me podcast:
"If you're a fan of Leon Edwards, if you're a British MMA fan or just an MMA fan in general that watches it, it was nice to hear that that's [Kamaru Usman's] next fight. What is it? I think it's 10 fights unbeaten for Leon. Maybe it's 11 actually, with the Belal Muhammad no contest."
Bisping went on to insist Edwards is deserving of a shot at welterweight gold.
"By the way, it's a long-a** run, right? And he deserves it. He's earned it every step of the way. He's beaten every opponent put in front of him. All right, granted the Belal Muhammad thing. But you know he's talked the talk, he's walked the walk. He's paid his dues. Whatever f***ing word you want to use, he's done it and he's earned that title shot and it's absolutely right that it's made."
Watch the most recent edition of Believe You Me with Michael Bisping right here:
Since his loss to Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards has accumulated nine wins over some of the biggest names on the welterweight roster.
However, Edwards' March 2021 outing at UFC Vegas 21 ended in a disappointing No Contest after he poked Belal Muhammad, leaving the Chicago native unable to continue.
The British southpaw previously locked horns with Kamaru Usman way back in December 2015. He suffered a unanimous decision loss at UFC on FOX 17.
Leon Edwards blasts Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal
In a recent post on social media, Leon Edwards trained his aim at welterweight contemporaries Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal. He responded to a tweet revealing details about a fight between 'Chaos' and 'Gamebred', reminding fans of their recent unsuccessful record.
This comes shortly after the 'BMF' titleholder was forced out of his UFC 269 bout against Edwards due to an injury.
"2 bums coming off losses."
@bokamotoESPN @GamebredFighter @ColbyCovMMA 2 bums coming off losses 🤦🏾♂️
Both Masvidal and Covington are currently coming off losses at the hands of the UFC welterweight champion. In fact, both fighters have only suffered two defeats in their last five fights. Those setbacks were recorded against Kamaru Usman.
Colby Covington experienced his most recent setback at UFC 268 by way of a unanimous decision in November 2021. He suffered his first loss to Usman back in December 2019 at UFC 245, where he was finished in the fifth round.
Jorge Masvidal, meanwhile, recorded a unanimous decision loss and a brutal KO defeat against 'The Nigerian Nightmare' at UFC 251 and UFC 261 back in July 2020 and April 2021, respectively.