Leon Edwards Confirms His First Title Defense Amidst Kamaru Usman Rumors

News of welterweight champion Leon Edwards defending his title against Kamaru Usman has picked up pace after the former announced that the fight is still on. In a conversation with Michael Bisping, Edwards revealed his discussion with the UFC, shutting rumors of a possible fallout. The fight, planned for March 2023, is supposed to be held in London in the O2 arena.

With this confirmation, the fight is all but set for UFC 286 and Edwards will be hoping for another highlight reel finish in front of his home crowd.

Leon Edwards reveals his discussion with UFC for the Kamaru Usman fight

While discussing the fifth-round KO of Usman, Rocky divulged what he has been informed by the promotion to Bisping.

 “100 %. I’ve been told, that’s what me and my team have been told. I spoke to the UFC last week, and they said the fight’s on. (Usman’s) already training for the fight. So okay, perfect.” stated Edwards.

The 31-year-old also did not seem too disturbed by a possible change in scenario. He says,“I am aiming towards that, if something changes in the meantime then we’ll go from there. But I’m focussed on the trilogy with Usman in London,”

Edwards clearly sounds focused on the trilogy and it’s evident that he has not let any rumors get into his head.

More on Kamaru Usman’s rumored injury 

Rumors about Usman carrying a hand injury started circulating when he was spotted with a brace on. Although the Nigerian did not disclose anything, his manager had a few words to say about it in a tweet.

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Manager Ali Abdelaziz shut down the news with a tweet claiming that Usman was indeed fighting Edwards next. He even stated that the belt would be back where it belonged, implying Usman was going to win.

Read More: “His Head Didn’t Even…”: Leon Edwards Delivers a Verbal Knockout on “Dead Man” Kamaru Usman With a Chilling Recap of His Title-Winning Effort

As of now, there has been no official confirmation of the fight. But Edwards’ revelation does come as a fresh piece of information for the fans to celebrate. After all, it’s rare that UFC does a PPV event in England. And knowing the British fans, it is bound to be one of the biggest PPVs of the year.