Former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards is planning to return to action on the Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev card expected to take place at Madison Square Garden in November.
During Thursday’s PFL card, where his brother Fabian picked up a highlight-reel knockout nearly identical to Edwards’ head kick knockout against Kamaru Usman, the former welterweight champ spoke with BloodyElbow’s Donagh Corby, dishing on his return.
Although the UFC has yet to officially announce the November headliner, Rocky indicated that if the welterweight belt is on the line, he wants to be on the card.
“Yeah November for sure. Yeah [Madison Square Garden]. I think JDM is fighting Islam at MSG, so I want to be on the same card.”
Corby’s report also quoted Edwards as saying:
“I feel good, I’ve been training and helping Fabian in camp. Now I’m ready to go, I’ve waited for the division to settle a little bit and now I’m ready to go. I’m one or two away from getting my belt back so I’m locking in and I’m going to get it done.”
The big question, of course, is who will the former champ compete against as he kicks off a 1-2 fight plan to get back in title contention?
Carlos Prates Still Interested in Edwards Fight Following Geoff Neal KO
During the UFC 319 card this past weekend, Carlos Prates called for a fight against Leon Edwards following his highlight-reel KO win against Geoff Neal.
Although Ian Garry is skeptical that the former welterweight champ will accept, Prates indicated in an interview with MiddleEasy this week that he still has his sights set on a fight with Edwards:
“Yeah, it’s what I want. There are two things I want: fighting in Brazil [at UFC Rio] or fighting against Leon. If they both happen in Brazil, that would be amazing.”
“I’m a huge fan of him,. I respect the guy, but I’m here to be a champ. I’m here to prove I’m the best. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, and I think after I beat Leon Edwards, I want to be close to a title shot. Maybe one or two fights more, and I can fight for the title.”
With a win over Edwards, Prates will almost certainly find himself in title talks.
Could Leon Edwards Fight Ian Garry?
Following Carlos Prates’ callout of Leon Edwards, welterweight contender Ian Garry took to Instagram, claiming that there was no way the former champ would accept a fight against Prates.
Although Edwards didn’t give any indication on a possible opponent while speaking with Corby on Thursday, the champ name-dropped Ian Garry as someone he has his sights set on during an interview with SkySports last month:
“That’d be a good fight. Definitely. That’s the fight I’ve mentioned to the UFC.
“I think that’d be a great fight to get back in there,”
With both fighters looking to insert themselves into the title picture, a clash between the two could add another high-stakes bout to what’s poised to be a massive card at Madison Square Garden.
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