Leon Edwards was one ranked no. 3 in the UFC welterweight division, but that is no longer the case because the fighter was removed from the rankings due to inactivity.
While no word has been given from the UFC as to why Edwards was removed from the rankings, a report from Ariel Helwani of ESPN revealed on Twitter that Edwards turning down a bunch of fights may have been the reason why:
UFC officials have told Leon Edwards’ team that he is being removed from the UFC rankings, sources say. This comes following frustrations surrounding not being able to book his next fight. No comment yet from Edwards or UFC. Of course, they can do this since it is their rankings.
After the Woodley fight fell through in March, the next offer came on short notice to fight Usman in July, then Covington when Woodley fight was iffy, then Geoff Neal and then Khamzat Chimaev on 12/19. Edwards didn’t agree to those fights.
After the Chimaev fight was finally turned down, the rankings removal happened. This has happened before (Diaz, Nathan), and it doesn’t mean he’s released. He’s not. But it will be interesting to see how they repair the relationship.
As for Chimaev, still no opponent yet. For whatever reason, Magny isn’t of interest to the brass so they are looking for other options right now, I’m told. Do they ultimately fall on Magny? Possible. But not at the moment.
Edwards has taken to Twitter after being removed from the rankings to deny that it has ever happened, while also challenging Khamzat Chimaev to a fight.
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