According to Kamaru Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz, Leon Edwards will face the Nigerian nigthmare in a rematch Usman for the UFC welterweight title in March quashing reports that he won’t make the fight.
Edwards became just the second-ever British fighter to lift UFC gold when he dramatically dethroned the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ back in August.
Since Edwards’ come-from-behind triumph, a trilogy bout between the pair has been slated for the UFC’s first British pay-per-view offering since 2016, at UFC 286 on the March 18.
However, fans’ hopes of seeing the two titans collide in in the Octagon were almost dashed when Usman was pictured wearing a hand cast during a regional MMA event in December.
Despite the apparent injury, Usman’s manager, Abdelaziz took to Twitter to rubbish claims that UFC were actively hunting a replacement opponent, and insisted that Usman is ‘good to go’ but made no reference to the proposed March date.
“Please enough with the rumors, Kamaru is fighting León next, he is good to go. We bringing this belt back to where it belongs,” he wrote.
Heading towards almost certain defeat on the judges’ scorecards with time running out in the fifth and final round, Edwards landed an inch-perfect headkick to dethrone the long-reigning champion back at UFC 278, earnIng Sportsmail’s 2022 UFC Knockout of the Year award in the process.
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