The Usman vs Edwards trilogy might not happen as planned. Recent rumor said that Usman is undergoing a hand surgery and the UFC is looking for other contenders to face Edwards.
Leon Edwards faced Kamaru Usman for the second time at UFC 278 in August. The first time they met toe-to-toe, Usman defeated him via unanimous decision in 2015.
However, Edwards surprised MMA fans after knocking out former pound-for-pound Kamaru Usman and became the new UFC welterweight champion.
This victory is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in recent MMA history as Usman was dominating the whole match and ‘Rocky’ only managed to pull off a comeback in the last minute.
UFC president Dana White hinted they will settle it in March of next year at UFC 286 in London.
Unfortunately, there is a rumor saying that the highly anticipated trilogy might be canceled. UFC veteran Stephen Thompson said that Kamaru Usman injured his hand and is having hand surgery. He also said that the UFC is looking to book Jorge Masvidal to face Edwards.
“Kamaru Usman is having hand surgery, I know they [Leon Edwards] want to fight somebody in March and they were looking at Jorge Masvidal. He’s a stand-up fighter, which kind of inspires me a little bit because our division is heavy wrestlers, and Leon Edwards is a striker and he’s champ.” Thompson said on Fred Talks Fighting.
Jorge Masvidal has been expressing his desire for a title shot ever since Edwards became a champion. He also used an old backstage altercation the were in back in 2019 to build it up.
Kamaru Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz quickly refuted the rumor. He took to his twitter account and simply wrote, “Fake news”.
Usman has a lot of wear and tear on his body so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. It’s still too soon to know the specifics.