Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev have been booked to fight each other a staggering three times.
After being dominated by Belal Muhammad last July at UFC 304, Leon Edwards knew that he must bounce back in his next fight to remain in the title picture.
The Brit was then booked to headline UFC London against fellow striker, Jack Della Maddalena, before the promotion upgraded the Della Maddalena to fight for the title at UFC 315, leaving Edwards with a late notice matchup against Sean Brady.
Unfortunately for the British fans, Edwards was handed his second loss in a row after Brady submitted him in the fourth round, handing him his first career stoppage loss.
Fans predict how Leon Edwards vs Khamzat Chimaev would’ve went down
During his pursuit of the 170lb title, the promotion booked Edwards to fight Khamzat Chimaev a staggering three times.
The pair were first booked in 2019 to fight at the UFC Apex but a positive COVID-19 test on the side of Edwards ruled him out of the bout.
They were then booked to fight just a month later at a Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, however, ‘Borz’ withdrew from the fight due to ongoing issues from COVID-19.
Again just a few months later the promotion went for a third time lucky but Chimaev withdrew again because of health complications, which later led to Chimaev’s first retirement from the sport.
Considering Edwards’ last few performances against pressure grapplers, fans have revisited the previously scheduled matchup between ‘Rocky’ and the Chechen.
“It’s crazy, I totally forgot that this was going to be a thing. Lucky indeed,” one fan commented.
“Forget Khamzat. Imagine what Islam would’ve done to him,” another fan suggested.
During the 33-year-old’s reign as champion, lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev hinted several times that he may move up to 170lbs to challenge Edwards for the title.
“Dude dodged 3 bullets back to back,” another fan said.
Michael Bisping suggests Leon Edwards’ next UFC fight
With Edwards’ UFC career now spiralling on a downward trajectory, it is imperative that he bounces back with a win in his next outing.
And with that, British UFC legend, Michael Bisping has planned his path back to the title, starting with a fight against Ian Machado Garry.
‘Rocky’ and ‘The Future’ have somewhat of a feud spanning back to when Edwards held the welterweight title. Machado Garry was training at Edwards’ gym for a short amount of time before being asked to leave.
With both fighters looking to get back into the win column and it being a favorable striker vs striker matchup, it could work for both welterweights next.