The current welterweight world champion Leon Edwards will face division gatekeeper Colby Covington in the Octagon on December 16 to defend his championship. The two will be the main attractions at UFC 296—the promotion’s last pay-per-view event of the year—which will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Even though Leon Edwards has a very difficult job next month, he is already thinking ahead to 2024 and the prospect of winning the UFC middleweight title and eyeing the winner of Strickland Vs. Du Plessis
Leon Edwards Eyes The Winner Of Strickland vs Du Plessis At UFC 296
The current welterweight champion said he also hopes to become a two-division UFC champion in an interview with Sky Sports. He stated that his goal is to compete in the middleweight title match between Strickland Vs. Du Plessis at UFC 297.
Apart from Leon Edward vs. Covington, UFC 296 features a flyweight title match between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson returning to face Shavkat Rakhmonov, a welterweight contender on the rise, a lightweight bout between Tony Ferguson and Paddy Pimblett, and a welterweight match between Vicente Luque and Ian Garry.
“Any of [Strickland] or [Du Plessi] will be great to fight,” Edwards said in an interview with Sky Sports. “I feel like that would be perfect. Me going out and becoming double champion, the first ever from the UK to do it. That’s definitely one of my goals. Next would be perfect. The division right now, there’s no one that’s exciting in the division. So for me to go out there and do that would be perfect.”
Leon Edwards also mentioned how well he thinks he fits with Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland. He said he would feel comfortable going up to 185 pounds, and he even indicated that he would like to fight the middleweight belt at UFC 300.
It would be fascinating to see whether the UFC gives Leon Edwards a chance to defend his middleweight championship, but if he defeats Colby Covington handily next month, he could have a good case.
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