Leon Edwards is open to defending his welterweight title against Conor McGregor should his proposed trilogy match with Kamaru Usman fall through at the last minute.
With both fighters sharing the same management, ‘Rocky’ says a welterweight showdown with ‘The Notorious’ would ‘be easy to make’ given the latter is rumored to return to the UFC at 170 pounds after gaining a considerable amount of weight during his ongoing and extended hiatus.
“Conor would be one that would be easy to make. We’re managed by the same management team,” Edwards told Sky Sports about the possibility of fighting McGregor. “I think for me, whoever comes, comes.”
Edwards also has his sights set on a grudge match with BMF champ Jorge Masvidal although he doubts whether ‘Gamebred’ would be able to make it to the fight after losing his last three in a row and coming up short in two previous title fights against Usman.
“Masvidal is one I definitely want to have, but because he keeps losing it’s difficult to make it make sense for the company,” Edwards said. “Even for the fans to sell it. I know it will probably sell as far as the backstory.”
Edwards captured the welterweight title with a stunning come-from-behind, last-minute knockout of then-champ Usman at UFC 278, making history by becoming the second British fighter to win a UFC title. He has won his last ten fights in a row and rightfully earned his spot in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings after beating Usman in one of the year’s biggest upsets.
McGregor hasn’t fought since he suffered a broken leg in his trilogy loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. He is expected to return to the UFC early next year against a TBA opponent.