Leon Edwards will fight next on Fight Island against high-ranked opponent, says Dana White

UFC welterweight Leon Edwards will next fight on Fight Island and his opponent will be a highly-ranked opponent at 170lbs, says UFC president Dana White.

Edwards was set to fight Tyron Woodley back in March at UFC London, but the card was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Edwards is now stuck in his native England, which has heavy restrictions on international travel, which means he will not be able to fly to the United States to fight Woodley. Instead, the UFC is now targeting Woodley against Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC Las Vegas on May 23.

The situation leaves Edwards without an opponent. Considering he has won eight fights in a row, Edwards wants to be fighting for the UFC welterweight title next, but because of his status as an international fighter, that doesn’t seem likely anytime soon.

Speaking to BT Sport, White said that Edwards will next fight on Fight Island and his next opponent will be someone ranked highly at 170lbs, though White isn’t sure who that will be just yet.

“(The coronavirus pandemic) leaves him on Fight Island fighting someone high up in the rankings, you know what I mean? We’ll get him figured out. We’ll get him something that he’s happy with,” White said.

Looking at the UFC welterweight rankings, right now Usman is the champ and then the top-three ranked fighters are Colby Covington, Woodey, and Jorge Masvidal. Edwards is fourth, with Stephen Thompson right behind him. Other fighters ranked in the top-10 include Burns, Demian Maia, Michael Chiesa, Rafael dos Anjos and Nate Diaz. Realistically, any of those fighters who aren’t booked for fights in the U.S. could be next for Edwards, but White didn’t give us any hints. For now, all we can do is speculate on who Edwards will fight next.

Who do you want to see Leon Edwards fight next?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/7/2020.