BREAKING: Leon Edwards vs Khamzat Chimaev Re-Booked For March 13

Khamzat Chimaev and his much-awaited matchup with Leon Edwards will finally take place in March, according to MMAJunkie. Ariel Helwani of ESPN has since confirmed the report. Chimaev and Edwards were initially scheduled to fight in December 2020. However, a positive COVID test for Leon ruled him out of the fight.

The fight was re-booked for next week’s card on Fight Island. However, this time Chimaev had to pull out due to struggles with post-COVID symptoms. Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa will be main-eventing that card instead.

Edwards is ranked number three in the Welterweight division heading into this fight. Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev is ranked right at the bottom at position 15. However, the hype behind Khamzat is absolutely insane and the UFC are trying to maximize his use. A win over Edwards would be absolutely phenomenal for the young fighter. However, a loss for Edwards could spill water on his title hopes.

Leon is entering the fight on an 8-fight winning streak. Chimaev is unbeaten in his career with a 9-0 record.

Khamzat Chimaev vs Leon Edwards: A ‘Rocky’ road ahead for both men?

This fight needed to happen before it reached Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson levels of cursed. Nobody could help the positive cases on both sides, so there isn’t even anyone to point the finger at for this matchup constantly getting postponed.

It will now happen almost exactly a year from when Edwards was booked to face Tyron Woodley in his comeback match from his title loss to Kamaru Usman. However, COVID stopped Leon from traveling and the fight went to Gilbert Burns. Burns beat Woodley and is now the next challenger for the title.

Chimaev has had flash wins over inferior competition. As a result, the UFC have decided to throw ‘Borz’ into the deep end. If he can hang with Edwards, the hype is definitely real. It will be very exciting and intriguing to see these two finally face each other in the Octagon.