"Me going out there being the first ever double-champion from the UK is a way to do it," Leon Edwards tells Sky Sports that he wants to move up to the middleweight division in early 2024 to challenge Sean Strickland or Dricus du Plessis
Wednesday 15 November 2023 16:41, UK
Leon Edwards has revealed ambitious plans to become a two-weight champion after defending his UFC welterweight title at the end of the year.
Edwards' plan is to move up to middleweight next year after dispatching Colby Covington in this December's UFC 296 headliner at Las Vegas.
""I'm focusing on this right now, but after that, there are a lot of fighters around - Shavkhat [Rakhmonov], [Stephen Thompson] Wonderboy, Vicente Luque," he told Sky Sports.
"Let's see who comes out on top and puts himself out there as a No 1 contender".
The Kingston-born fighter couldn't help but give away two names on his list: "Sean Strickland, or Dricus Du Plessis. Those two are fighting [for the middleweight title], so any one of them would be great.
"Now is perfect; me going out there being the first-ever double-champion from the UK is the way to do it. That's on the cards for sure," he added.
The timeline Edwards would travel on puts him on a direct path to UFC 300's main event, which he claimed would be "massive."
Before that, there's the matter of successfully defending his belt for the second time against Covington.
Considering that Covington has not fought since last March when he defeated Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision, it's unsurprising that Edwards remains unsure about his opponent's current skill level.
He said: "Everyone keeps going on about his cardio. But judging by what he did to Rob Lawler, who everyone knew was already done, it doesn't mean much.
"So I'm taking everyone as my first title defence and it will be a hard fight.
"My goal now is to be the best welterweight of all time. After Colby, I'll train. I want to beat George St-Pierre's record for title defences, so I've got to keep chipping away.
"I'm 32 now, so I have until 37 to accomplish my goals".
Whether he thinks Covington deserves a shot at his throne is another question, especially given that a rematch with Belal Muhammed might be on the cards.
"I still don't think he deserves it. I don't think anyone does.
"I had a meeting with the UFC in Vegas in the summer. After the March fight, I had a few injuries; I wasn't fit to go in August.
But they ordered plans for me to fight in August, so It was between New York and Vegas, and everyone knew Jones would headline New York.
"They kept saying they didn't want me to do a co-main event for Jones. And so now we end up with Colby. It goes to the biggest name, and who can bring the most money in? Right now, it's probably him".
On Saturday night Edwards' fellow British title holder Tom Aspinall defeated Sergei Pavlovich at Madison Square Garden to win the interim heavyweight title on just 17 days' notice.
Edwards spoke fondly of what it must have meant to all those involved in the victory.
"It was fantastic. He went out there and gave the performance of his lifetime on just two weeks' notice. He's got it all with the way he moves and his skill set.
I messaged him afterward to say, 'Congratulations; you deserve it.' His dad, too, they're such nice people.
"It's three now [in British history], right? Me, him, and [Michael] Bisping. Just gets better and better," he added with a smile.
Aspinall was asked who he wanted to take on next after the fight and called out Jones - the man whose place he took after Jones tore a pectoral tendon just weeks before the bout.
Edwards, however, relishes a potential matchup between the division's two best heavy hitters.
"Jones is my GOAT, so for him to go out there and [potentially] beat Jones is going to be a hard task. It's never been done before. But if anyone can, Tom can, so I'm looking forward to it."
Jones has been beaten before by Matt Hamill in 2009 when he was disqualified for using "illegal elbows". However, Edwards' point still stands. A clash with Aspinall ending in the Englishman's favour would be monumental.
