Khamzat Chimaev vs Leon Edwards was one of the most anticipated fights of last year. The rising superstar, Chimaev, was set to face his toughest test to date against number three ranked Leon Edwards. However, the fight has now been canceled twice.
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The first time the two men were supposed to face each other was in December 2020. Unfortunately, ‘Rocky’ pulled out of the fight as he tested positive for COVID-19. The fight was then set to headline UFC Fight Night on Fight Island. In a blow to MMA fans, this time around it was ‘Borz’ who pulled out of the fight due to the side effects of COVID-19.
Leon Edwards was ready to take a replacement and fight on the card at Fight Island. However, the UFC deemed it fit for him to fight Khamzat at a later date and not fight on Fight Island.
This means that Michael Chiesa vs Neil Magny is now the main event for UFC Fight Night on January 19th.
Read More: Neil Magny set to take on Michael Chiesa on Fight Island
Michael Chiesa gives his pick for Leon Edwards vs Khamzat Chimaev
In a recent interview with Full Mount MMA, a reporter asked ‘Maverick’ who he thinks would win the fight between ‘Borz’ and ‘Rocky’.
He said, “You know, it’s a really hard fight to predict. On one side you have Chimaev, 3-0 in the UFC but not the most battle-tested 3-0 you know? There are not gimmick fights in the UFC but those are very favorable matchups. Then you got Leon Edwards who has been in there with the who’s who of tough guys.”Chiesa continued, “His last loss came to the champ Kamaru Usman, since then he’s on an eight-fight win streak… but his last win was a five-round decision win over Rafael dos Anjos. But we have not seen him in a long time. I sway towards Leon Edwards.
“I know Chimaev has got tremendous skills, he’s very young, and he hasn’t even been doing mixed martial arts for that long. But a guy like Leon Edwards man, he’s been in there with a lot of tough guys.”
‘Maverick’ has a tall task ahead of him when he takes on Neil Magny in a few weeks’ time. Michael will be aiming to extend his three-fight win streak and take a step closer to a title shot at 170-pounds.
