31 December 2023 , 17:52
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Leon Edwards claims he will be defending his welterweight world title at UFC 300 after beating Colby Covington.
'Rocky' made the second defence of his welterweight belt earlier this month in Las Vegas with a one-sided points win against perennial contender and former interim champion Covington. The bout was overshadowed by an ugly remark Covington made in the build-up about Edwards' late father, who was murdered when he was just 13.
Edwards is a boyhood Aston Villa fan and was brought out on the pitch at halftime during their 3-2 win over Burnley on Saturday. "I will defend my belt in April at UFC 300 in Vegas again, then hopefully in the summertime get a fight back home in Birmingham at Villa Park," he said. "I'm in talks with the UFC, so hopefully we can get it done."
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The Brummie was presented with a home shirt that had 'Champ 1' written on the back of it as he posed with the likes of Leon Bailey and Emiliano Martinez after Villa's win. Edwards walked around the pitch with his world title and enjoyed big applause from the Villa fans as he showed off his belt.
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No opponent has yet been announced for Edwards' next fight, but fans are convinced it will be the No.2 welterweight contender Belal Muhammad. Edwards fought Muhammad two years ago but the fight ended in a no-contest when an accidental eye poke from Edwards left Muhammad unable to continue.
Edwards played down a fight against Muhammad after his win against Covington by telling reporters including Mirror Fighting: "I don’t feel like Belal should be next. I’ve done it before. I’ve won like 10 fights and didn’t get a title shot. So, what makes him different or more privileged? There are definitely other options.
"Colby already skipped the line already, to get the fight so let’s see who’s next. Like I said before, this is the ‘Rocky’ era, it’s my era now and I’ll keep reigning, whoever’s next. It doesn’t matter, they’re all similar styles anyway. All boxers and wrestlers, it’s what I’ve built my career on. So, whoever comes next, it’s whatever."