Leon Edwards is his own worst enemy
The writing is on the wall, yet the move is the same from the ultimate victim
You might think that I am being hard on (3)Leon Edwards. He should very well be getting the next crack at the title riding a nine fight winning streak, but let’s be real for a sec. Thinking that the UFC is going to give Leon a title shot because he deserves it is something that a new person who, with all due respect, doesn’t know anything about the UFC.
I mean absolutely no disrespect by that. But if you haven’t seen Leon get constantly screwed out of title shots and fights that he deserves you either are new or haven’t been paying attention.
You could blame it on bad luck, as Leon has had exactly one win since 2019. He has had 6 fights cancelled either by injury or through logistical issues due to covid. Even after all of that he was scheduled to fight (10)Khamzat Chimaev and that fight fell through due to “Borz” coming down with covid. He ultimately got a saving grace with (9)Belal Muhammed answering the short notice call against “Rocky”. But all of that was in vain. Leon ended the fight with an accidental eye poke that left Belal Muhammed crying in pain.
But that is the story of Leon Edwards, he was bullied into taking the Chimaev fight by getting temporarily removed from the UFC rankings due to “inactivity” which was just a veiled attack to the audience that knows better.
It was a simple yet effective action though, as Leon accepted the fight with “Borz” and then went on to accept the short notice replacement of Muhammed.
And now here we are, over 150 days since his last win. Which was against Nate Diaz that by all standards was supposed to be a gimme fight yet somehow ended up going the distance, and not only that but Nate gave him a right good smack that was the talk of the town that night. Not, you know, the beating that he gave to Nate for nearly 25 minutes.
But that is the moral of the story here.
Leon needs to be the one that controls the narrative, not by talking but by doing,
Jorge Masvidal dropping out of the fight was his perfect opportunity to take advantage and call out Belal, who we can all agree was getting beat in their short lived match.
Yet instead of calling someone out he decides to announce that he is wanting some time off to spend with family.
And that is exactly my problem with Leon Edwards.
I understand the argument that he has earned the title shot with nine straight wins. But that argument gets lost on the more casual audience when you realize that he has 1 win in two years.
Not to mention the terrible optics that the Nate Diaz fight gave.
And now you start to see things shaking up with the arrival of Khamzat Chimaev splashing into the top ten after a stellar outing against (12)Li Jingliang.
And as recently as today, November 11th, a fight between Belal Muhammed and (5)Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson was announced for that very same card Leon was supposed to be on. Leaving (2)Burns (who is ranked ahead of Leon), (4)Luque, (6)Cheisa, (8)Magny and Khamzat left as possible opponents.
All of those above are calling for fights, yet Leon is asking to get off of the card.
My wife I think best explained his situation, Leon Edwards is keeping a score that no one else is. Or cares for. My guy you fought Nate Diaz.
Thinking that he won’t get passed up for a title shot, even when (1)Colby Covington got a rematch with just one win after his first championship loss to (C)Kamaru Usman.
Sticking to his guns is just the practice of insanity.
Truly my intention with this one is just to sincerely reach out to Leon Edwards and tell him “you are not going to get this title shot by sitting out”, if the community thinks you are going to get passed up, you know what Dana White has to be thinking.
In the words of the great (GOAT)Chael Sonnen, “just call a name.”
Because if you look at it from the UFC’s perspective, do you really want Leon Edwards ending up champion?
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