Leon Edwards eyes Conor McGregor title defense after wins in their upcoming bouts

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards wants a ‘red panty night’ against Conor McGregor after his upcoming title defense.

Edwards will defend the UFC welterweight title against the surging Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 on July 27. It’s a rematch of their first clash in 2021 that abruptly ended in a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke.

Just a few weeks before at UFC 303, McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon against Michael Chandler. His comeback fight ends a three-year absence from fighting, stemming from a leg injury suffered at UFC 264.

McGregor and Edwards are two of the biggest European stars in UFC history. As McGregor forecasts a potential run a three-division champion status, Edwards is willing to take him on should he defeat Chandler.

Leon Edwards vs. Conor McGregor?

In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Edwards targeted a McGregor clash with a win over Muhammad at UFC 304.

“Conor’s got to take out Michael [Chandler], I’ll take out [Belal Muhammad], and we’ll go from there,” Edwards said about a possible McGregor fight. “That would be good. 100 percent, why not? Let’s give him the opportunity to become a three-division world champion, give me the opportunity to take out a guy like Conor McGregor. New York? That would be perfect…

“That’s the fight…MSG? Let’s go. We have business to take of…but that needs to happen, and it should happen.”

While there’s been respect from Edwards towards McGregor, the latter has ramped up his rhetoric in recent days. McGregor harshly criticized Edwards’s most recent title defense against Colby Covington at UFC 296, mocking him as a decision-first fighter.

Edwards earned the welterweight belt by knocking out Kamaru Usman at UFC 278. He went on to outpoint Usman in their UFC 286 rematch.

Edwards and McGregor both have tall tasks in front of them this summer, but a future clash might be on the horizon. November’s likely UFC pay-per-view card might include this star-studded matchup.