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It is fair to say Leon Edwards avenged his father’s honor last night. After Colby Covington implied ‘Rocky’s father was in the seventh circle of hell at their ceremonial weigh-ins, Edwards was determined to make ‘Chaos’ pay. And he did make him pay, beating the Miami resident via a unanimous decision in their welterweight title bout.

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And after his victory, the 32-year-old’s next move is uncertain. While Belal Muhammad will likely be his next opponent, there is a wildcard in the mix. Edwards has spoken about wanting to move up and fight the middleweight champion to try and become the first English double champion in the UFC. While it is unclear who his next opponent will be, the Kingston native is clear about where he wants to fight next.

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Leon Edwards on fighting in the UK

At the UFC 296 post-fight press conference, Leon Edwards was asked whether he wanted his next fight to be in England. The welterweight champion was all-in on the idea of him fighting in his native England next. The 32-year-old suggested that interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall should feature on the card, too.

“I love to fight in England especially now we got Tom, you know. Like have me and Tom [Aspinall] on a card, headlining [and] co-headlining. That would be, for the UK, massive, you know,” the Englishman said.

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Interstingly, Colby Covington had accused Edwards of ‘betraying’ UK fans in interviews leading up to their title bout. ‘Chaos’ claimed the Englishman had shot down the proposition of fighting him in England, which he saw as a disservice to the UK fans, whom he called the best fans in the world.

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Prior to UFC 296, the Miami native had promised to make his first title defense in the UK if he were to beat Edwards. This, of course, did not happen, as Covington lost. However, if Edwards was to get his way, the next welterweight title bout would be held in the UK.

Edwards thinks a UK card featuring him and Aspinall would popularize MMA in Europe

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A UK mega-card featuring him and Aspinall, ‘Rocky’ felt, would help bring more exposure to mixed martial arts in Europe. In addition, he felt the card would be a commercial success too, and would sell out large stadiums in the country.

Read More: Leon Edwards Should Not Go for UFC MW Title Just Yet After Colby Covington Fight at UFC 296

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I feel like that’s definitely something that we should push towards to just bring more light to MMA in Europe. I feel having me and Tom headline the card, even Manchester, or any big stadium I think that’s what we should definitely push towards you know,” he added.

What do you think? Will Edwards decide on Aspinall as his next opponent? Who would you like to see Edwards face next?

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Written by

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Kanishk Thakur

2,731 Articles

Kanishk Thakur is a senior UFC writer at EssentiallySports with over 2500 articles. A seasoned writer with about 5 years of professional writing experience, he has expertly covered the heated rivalries in the fight game and delivered meticulous reports of athlete payouts here at ES. Additionally, he also unravels stories that occur outside the cage, in fighters' lives. Conor McGregor even shouted out Kanishk's spread on Forged Irish stout on his socials. When he's not drafting his next piece for his readers, you can find him hunched over a book.

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Edited by

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Abhishek Kumar Das

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