Welterweight contender Leon Edwards was ready to take on former champion Tyron Woodley in March in London. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire fight card ended up being scrapped.
These days, the number-four ranked 170-pounder isn’t willing to take on any other fight, unless it will boost his stock as a fighter.
“For me, it has to be someone above me,” Edwards told MMA Junkie. “I’ve worked too hard to get into this position to be fighting Top 10. I’ve the second-most wins in the division compared to the champion, so I truly believe that I deserve a world title shot already.
“So the only way I’ll fight again is either (a) title shot or the No. 1 contender spot. There’s no point of me going backwards and fighting someone in the Top 10, because it’ll defeat the point of me getting to this position.
“(The) only reason I wanted to fight Woodley was because he was a former world champion and the Usman fight was taken away from me because of Masvidal, so anyone above me is the only option right now,” he added.
The 28-year-old Edwards is currently on an eight-fight win streak. The biggest win of his career took place last July, when he defeated former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos.