UFC News: Leon Edwards shoots back at Tyron Woodley for refusing to fight him in London
Leon Edwards is currently ranked #4 in the UFC Welterweight division. Since Jorge Masvidal (who should be next in line) isn't particularly interested in a title shot, the Brit could be one win away from facing the winner of Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington.
Edwards' next opponent is expected to be Tyron Woodley and the UFC is currently in the process of making that happen. There's only one problem; while it would be the perfect headliner for UFC London (especially since Edwards is British), Woodley shot that down on a live stream, refusing to fight in London.
Woodley apparently only wants to fight in the United States and explained that when he goes abroad, it will only be on vacation. Edwards responded to Woodley's comments on the Euro bash podcast of MMA Fighting, stating that they're trying to "force" Woodley to fight in London (H/T BJPenn.com):
“I’m hoping he takes it, but from what I’m hearing he won’t come to London. He says he’ll fight, but not in London. That makes no sense. We’re in negotiations now and hopefully I’ll know this week. I’m meeting with the UFC, so I’ll have more information about that and what’s going on. What I’m hearing is he doesn’t want to come to London, so we’re trying to force him to come to London.”
Edwards believes that Woodley is just making excuses to avoid a potential fight:
“I’ve never lost a fight in the U.K., from amateur to pro. He’s probably looking at that thinking, ‘I don’t want to go over there and get beat,’ because where does he go [from there]? Like I said, he’s making excuses from the jump.”
The Brit went on to state that every time he picks up a win, someone makes a new excuse. Edwards is of the opinion that beating a former Champion will shut people up and that the fight against Woodley is the next logical step since everyone else appears to be booked.
Edwards also claimed that he should have earned a title shot 2-3 fights ago and that he'll be taking a "very close" look at the Welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington this Saturday.