‘Rocky’ finds himself in a difficult spot following back-to-back defeats where he’s faced some big questions.
Leon Edwards was completely dominated by Sean Brady in the main event of UFC London this past Saturday night at the O2 Arena.
Whilst Michael Bisping suggested the likes of Ian Machado Garry next for Edwards, it’ll take some serious work for him to get back into the title picture regardless of the test that is put in front of him.
Though Colby Covington stating that Edwards should retire appears to be a drastic outcome, the former champion clearly needs to make some significant changes.
One decision that was suggested for the Brit was a change of scenery entirely in order to start fresh after his disappointing performance on home soil.
Jon Anik says he can see Leon Edwards moving up to middleweight for a few more fights
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, UFC commentator Jon Anik spoke about what he believes will be next for Leon Edwards.
Anik doesn’t believe that we’re likely to see the former welterweight champion face off against the other top contenders at 170-pounds.
Whilst there are still fights there for him at 33-years-old, the bigger question is whether ‘Rocky’ has the same motivation to climb back up the mountain, especially considering how long it took him the first time.
Anik suggested that a more likely route for Edwards might be seeing the Brit move up to the middleweight division for some fresh challenges and matchups.
Though he’s still not sure about his title ambitions, there could still be some exciting fights for Edwards there which would give him a new goal to focus on.
“I don’t think he’s going to fight Ian Machado Garry. I think it stands to reason that Leon Edwards pushes the reset button on this whole f—— thing and moves up to middleweight and tries to sort of find a big name or a big fight there and see if maybe he could have a couple good fights at 185-pounds but in terms of championship belt chasing my man, I’m just not sure.”
- READ MORE: ‘Deluded’… Alexander Volkanovski mocked by fans after discussing his mindset ahead of UFC 314
Jon Anik says Leon Edwards might not even show up to his own Hall of Fame induction
The large conversation surrounding Leon Edwards right now is where his motivation is at following another difficult night at the office where he didn’t look capable of turning things around.
It’s not just that ‘Rocky’ has lost consecutive fights after a long winning streak that led to a title reign, it’s that he hasn’t looked particularly fired up in either of the last two outings.
During the same interview, Anik remarked that whilst Edwards will likely find himself being inducted into the Hall of Fame, he isn’t sure whether that will excite him much amidst questions about his passion at this time.
“I think most of these champions who defend the belt are going to go into the UFC Hall of Fame and I say this with all due respect, I don’t even know if Leon Edwards would be of a great appetite to show up to his own UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony. I just don’t know that he’s obsessed with the sport the way a lot of these guys are.”