From champion to ashes, from division top dog to losing skid. And more importantly, from “headshot dead” to ‘headshot what?’ UFC London’s mauling of Leon Edwards at the hands of the now #1 ranked 170lbs contender Sean Brady affected the former champion in more ways than one. Not only did his chance to be back in title contention now seem a fairy tale but the dip in Edwards’ confidence is palpable. In addition to that, the Brit was also ushered off the pound-for-pound list, with things looking bleak for the Englishman with two consecutive defeats.

Adding insult to injury, his arch-nemesis, Colby Covington claims the former champ’s downward spiral started way back at UFC 296. Many were expecting Edwards to make quick work of Covington in their title bout as the latter returned after a lengthy hiatus. Instead, the Englishman would best his rival to earn a decision win in what can be described as an exciting clash. Moreover, ‘Chaos’ claimed that he had hurt himself during the initial stages of that fight, and questioned ‘Rocky’ for not taking advantage of it. This ultimately led him to believe that the English star might be completely drained.

“I kind of thought that after I fought Leon, you know, the motivation wasn’t there anymore,” Colby Covington stated on the ‘Submission Radio’ podcast. “I mean, I could tell in the fight, like, I broke my foot immediately, and he did nothing. He didn’t try and come after me. He just tried to point, coast to a decision.”

Well, that could be a stretch, but the Clovis native tried to substantiate his claims by talking about the payout Edwards earned for their title fight. Reports claim that it was his highest earnings for a single fight as he took home around $3 million. After all, the headliner generated a lot of interest after some controversial moments from the pre-fight press conference.

In typical ‘Chaos’ fashion, the former interim champion took credit for that massive cheque and held that as the factor for the disappointing results in Edwards’ last couple of fights. “I could tell after that fight, he just wasn’t hungry anymore. I made him too much money at that press conference. So, I just don’t think he’s motivated anymore. He should hang ’em up,” the welterweight veteran added.

Amidst all the negative things, Leon Edwards still has a positive, which is that he’s still in the top five. But it would be wrong not to assume that he’s in a precarious position right now, but Hall of Famer Michael Bisping has an idea for ‘Rocky’s next fight.

Michael Bisping weighs in on Leon Edwards and his next outing

After the UFC London loss, Leon Edwards has to go back to the drawing board. Maybe a couple of wins could do the trick, as Michael Bisping suggested that he should start his journey back to the title shot by taking on another contender, who’s vying for a title shot. Ian Garry, who racked up his first loss against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310, was livid that Jack Della Maddalena got the title shot ahead of him, given that he had been more active than the Australian star.

While he’s also in the running to fight Belal Muhammad, Bisping claimed that ‘The Future’ should be Edwards’ next opponent. It is no secret that Edwards has fought grapplers in his last two outings, so maybe a contest against a striker could bring his confidence back.

“I’d like to see him [Leon Edwards] against a striker so he can have a fun fight. Ian Garry makes a lot of sense if you ask me,” Michael Bisping stated while responding to a fan on X. This does look like an appealing fight as fans shared positive reactions to his suggestion on his social media post.

Well, the welterweight title fight is set for UFC 315, and it will be interesting to see if Leon Edwards can prove Colby Covington wrong when it comes to his claims about his lack of motivation. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.