A high stake welterweight fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards now has a new date. Chimaev vs Edwards will take place on Jan 20 next month. UFC president Dana White broke the news via his Instagram story.
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The UFC had booked a fight between the two for the last event of 2020. However, Edwards tested positive for COVID-19, which resulted in the fight falling through. With the bout booked once again, the two will now look to safely enter the Octagon this time around.
Leon Edwards is ranked number three in the UFC welterweight rankings. He is riding an eight-fight win streak, a number only bettered by the welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman. Incidentally, Edwards’ last loss also came against Usman, back in 2015. Since then, Edwards has steadily risen through the rankings to be a top contender in the division.
The pandemic in 2020 has been particularly unfavorable to the Jamaican-born Brit. In March, his fight with Tyron Woodley was among the first ones to fall through. Later on, the UFC offered him a fight against Kamaru Usman for UFC 251. However, he couldn’t make it work, possibly due to the circumstances at that time.
Khamzat Chimaev has been one of UFC’s biggest breakthrough star in 2020
Khamzat ‘Borz’ Chimaev is a name that has gained huge recognition in a relatively short span of time. His three knockout victories, which include two fights within a span of ten days, led to his following shoot up massively.
More than just his flawless performances and his uncanny resemblance to Khabib Nurmagomedov, it is his attitude of being ready to fight anytime and anywhere that has connected him with the fans. The fight with Edwards presents a massive opportunity for him to leapfrog his way into the upper echelons of the UFC rankings.
On the flip side, Chimaev can be the perfect opponent for ‘Rocky’ to make his claim to fight the winner of Usman vs Burns. If he manages to stop the hype train of the 26-year-old Chimaev, there will be no argument regarding his claim for a title shot.
The fight will take place on Fight Island, a location that ‘Borz’ is very familiar with.
Read More: Dana White Reveals Details on Khamzat Chimaev vs Leon Edwards Match