Leon Edwards might fight probably even fight for the welterweight title
Leon Edwards put on a dominant performance against Nate Diaz at UFC 263, which was the first-ever 5-round non-title fight in UFC history.
‘The Brit’ won via. unanimous decision, scoring 49-46 on all three judges’ scorecard. Barring a final minute whooping from Diaz, Edwards had the fight under his control.
With that win, he made it 9 victories in a row, staying defeat less since December 2015. He cemented his position as a top-ranked welterweight contender, worthy enough to challenge for the title.
He did call-out the welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at the post-fight backstage interviews, but Usman didn’t seem interested due to Edwards’ last minute ‘fiasco’.
In the latest DC & Helwani episode, Daniel Cormier claimed that if Edwards doesn’t fight for the title, it was hard to overlook a fight between him and Jorge Masvidal.
Cormier was quoted as saying:
“[Other than a title fight], that would be the only fight that I would take if I’m Leon Edwards. That would be the only fight I’d even consider, would be the Masvidal [Jorge] fight.”
Following UFC 263, the expected fight purses were revealed by MMASalaries.com. Diaz, despite losing to Edwards, made almost 6 times the amount made by the Brit.
While Diaz took home a staggering $1.12 million, Edwards made only $191,000. The main reason for such a huge contrast was Diaz’s base salary of $600,000. Edwards’ base salary was a mere $90,000 (definitely less when compared to what Diaz took home).
It also shows the impact and longevity of ‘The Stockton Slugger’ in the promotion. He has been a part of the UFC since 2007, and never fails to put on a show.
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